


The Road Home

by zanylanie



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Alexandria Safe-Zone, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Hand Jobs, Oral Sex, Protective Rick, Shower Sex
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-21
Updated: 2017-02-21
Packaged: 2018-09-10 18:51:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 42
Words: 37,835
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8928964
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zanylanie/pseuds/zanylanie
Summary: Riley Dunn is trying to make it alone in the forest outside Alexandria when she encounters Rick and Carl Grimes. After she satisfactorily answers The Three Questions, they take her home to join their community. She and Rick bond in the face of danger. But is their romance real, or just a desperate attempt to feel alive in a world gone mad?





	1. A Chance Encounter

**Author's Note:**

> Chapter One takes place between episodes 05X13 and 05X14.

“Hunger makes us do crazy things, impulsive things, foolish things. It’s what makes the walkers rip pieces of flesh from anything living. It’s what makes the living fight against each other, since resources in this new world are scarce. And when you get right down to it, it’s the reason we’re all here to celebrate today.”

. . .

Riley frantically jiggled the key in the trunk lock. Her stomach was rumbling so loudly that she genuinely worried it was going to attract growlers. Her first friend in this strange, surreal world had taught her that: the growlers were attracted to light, sound, and smell. She couldn’t do much about the smell, but she could keep quiet. She could limit the use of her flashlight – a smart move anyway, since the batteries were hardly going to last forever.

Night would be falling soon, and she needed to find shelter. The trunks of cars made for some of the best sleeping quarters around. But this one – the lock seemed to be jammed. She knew she was making too much noise. If she couldn’t get this open soon, she’d have to clear out of the area.

It wouldn’t budge.

She knew better, but frustration overtook her, and she slammed her open palm down on the still-closed blue steel, letting a desperate cry echo through the trees as she sank to the ground, dropping her head into her hands. Her own scream masked the initial creak, but the trunk lid bobbed a bit, and eventually she noticed the sound and looked up. Tears of relief sprang to her eyes and she scrambled to get inside the car.

But when she got to her feet, she saw that she had not found a nice, empty, warm place to sleep.

She had found something better: a trunk full of supplies. Bags were lined up neatly, full of huge boxes of granola bars, disposable diapers, baby wipes, energy drinks, packages of snacks that were each 100 calories (what frivolous nonsense we used to worry about, she thought), toilet paper, and paper towels. She was rummaging through the trunk, thinking about ways she could carry as much of this as possible with her, when she spotted it: a Halloween-sized bag of mini candy bars. All thoughts of filling her backpack and checking the car for some other kind of bag – a diaper bag, maybe, given the obvious baby items – to carry supplies in flew out of her head.

She pulled the sharp-ended tool – she wasn’t really sure what the tool was called so she just thought of it as a spike – from where it held her twisted-up hair and used it to poke at the bag. It still had traces of growler guts on it, but she had stopped being disgusted by such things long ago. She broke the package open and started peeling off wrappers as fast as her fumbling fingers would allow. She had three of the small bars of chocolate and peanuts in her mouth before she stopped to chew. That was when she heard it, the unmistakable snap of a twig cracking beneath someone’s foot. She didn’t know if that foot was human or growler, and she didn’t plan to stick around to find out. She stuck the spike in her pocket for safe-keeping and left everything else behind as she scampered into the woods, dropping and covering herself as best she could with branches and leaves as she heard voices approach. She heard feet running, followed by one of the voices becoming clearer: “Dad, look at all this stuff! Maybe we can get the car started. We have to get all this back home.”

She peered toward the car through her haphazard camouflage and saw a man, probably a bit older than she was, and a teenage boy. The boy was picking through the candy. The man was aiming some sort of assault rifle in her general direction.

“We’ll get it back one way or another, Carl, but first we need to welcome our company.”

Riley ducked her head. Crap.

“Put your weapon down and come on out of there,” the man drawled. “We just want to have a little talk.”

She held perfectly still, not even daring to breathe.

“We can’t just leave you there. It would be better for us all if you just came on out. Daylight’s burning.”

Riley pushed the branches off and got her feet under her. She quickly twisted her hair back up and slid the spike back into it, then raised her hands and started walking back toward the car. A man didn’t seem too likely to give a second thought to a woman’s hair accessory actually being a weapon. It wouldn’t be any match for the fire power he was packing, but she still didn’t want to lose her one line of defense against the flesh-eating creatures who had taken over the world.

She put her hands above her head. “I’m coming out! I don’t have any weapons!”

She walked toward them, slowly, non-threateningly, keeping her hands raised.

“No offense, ma’am,” the older of the two said, “but we’re going to need to make sure you’re telling us the truth. I’ll need to frisk you.”

Riley nodded, still approaching with slow, deliberate steps. He walked toward her, lowering the gun. The younger of them stopped eating candy and pulled a pistol from the back waistband of his jeans. He aimed it at her. She stayed still.

“Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart,” the man said, still with that drawl that would be charming if she weren’t so terrified.

She complied. He patted her pants pockets then worked his way up, even cupping his hands over her breasts, quickly and efficiently, before making his way back down the outsides of her legs then back up her inner calves, knees, and finally thighs. There was nothing sexual or even aggressive in his touch, but she felt her muscles clench anyway.

“Sorry about that ma’am, but I can’t be too careful, especially with my son here.”

She swallowed, hard, and found her voice enough to say “I understand.”

They stood there staring at each other. She remembered something from her pre-growler days, maybe from one of the crime shows she had watched so obsessively on TV, that it made it harder to kill someone if you saw them as a person and not an object. She kept her hands up and said, “I’m Riley.”

The man held out a hand. “Rick.” She shook his hand, tentatively. He nodded toward the boy. “That’s Carl. You made his whole month with that stash of candy.” He grinned, and she noticed a sparkle in his startlingly blue eyes.

“I was just looking for a place to sleep.”

Carl lowered his gun and went back to rummaging through the bag of candy. He seemed to prefer the wafer cookies coated in milk chocolate. Maybe he’d still let her have a few of the ones with peanuts.

“You out here alone?” Rick asked. His eyes changed, taking on an expression of concern, not opportunism.

She went over and sat on the hood of the car, not sure how much longer her legs would hold her up. Her heart was still pounding with fear, the sound echoing through the inside of her head even louder than her growling stomach. She slowly lowered her hands then tucked them under her thighs, trying to show that she wasn’t a threat. “For the past couple of days. I was with a few other people, but we got separated when some guys ambushed our camp and ransacked our supplies.”

Rick and Carl exchanged a look. Carl picked up her pack and rummaged through it. He nodded at Rick. She seemed to have passed some kind of test, based on the almost-empty bottle of water, change of socks, and stash of loose tampons floating around the bottom of her otherwise-empty bag.

“I’d like to ask you a couple of questions.” Rick looked at her, his expression turning serious.

“Sure,” she said.

“How many walkers have you killed?”

It took her a second to realize that when he said walkers, he meant the growlers. The monsters. “I don’t have an exact count. Probably about 20? Somewhere around there. I’ve attacked a lot more, but it took me a while to figure out that they only die if you stab them in the head.”

“Shooting them in the head works, too,” Carl added helpfully.

Rick continued. “OK. How many people have you killed?”

She was too tired and scared to think up a lie so she just told him the truth. “One.”

“Why?”

“Why did I kill him?”

Rick nodded.

She gulped and looked down at the ground, but she offered up the truth again. “He was trying to rape me. I didn’t mean to kill him, I just wanted him to stop.”

That concerned look was back in his eyes, tinged with anger. He trained his gaze on her. She felt like his eyes saw right down into her very core. “Even before all this, that would have been self-defense, ma’am. No need to explain.” She sometimes assumed the worst about men and turned out to be wrong. She had never been fooled into thinking a guy was one of the good ones and it turned out he wasn’t. Rick was one of the good ones, she could just tell.

“Riley,” she reminded him. “My name is Riley.”

“Riley,” he said with that drawl that was becoming more and more endearing with every word he spoke. “We come from a place where you’ll be safe. We’d like to take you there if you’d like to come with us.”

She glanced over at Carl, who was smiling and nodding, his mouth full of chocolate.

She had learned to trust her instincts out here. “I’ll come with you.”


	2. Whatever Gets You Through the Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Before they can get back to Alexandria, Riley, Rick, and Carl must spend the night on the road.

Rick grinned. “All right, Riley. First things first. Let’s see if we can get this car started.”

He closed the trunk and pulled the keys from the lock where she’d left them in her candy-induced haste. Carl walked over and tried to get the keys from him, but Rick snatched them away.

“Oh, c’mon Dad, let me drive!”

“Not right now, son. We don’t have much daylight left.” He climbed into the driver seat, put the key in the ignition, and after only a few tries the engine came to life. But within a few seconds, he turned it back off.

“We don’t have enough gas to make it all the way back, and it’s too risky to start off this close to dark. We’ll sleep here tonight and drive once day breaks. But first, dinner.”

He reached down under the dash and pulled a lever that popped the trunk. Riley followed him back. He looked into the bags and said “well, hot damn.” He started pulling the bags out of the trunk, and there were treasures in there that she hadn’t seen the first time: beef jerky, pouches of tuna, a case of baby food, and a huge jar of pickles.

He pulled out some of the beef jerky and the little packs of cookies or crackers – Riley hadn’t noticed what they were. 1 bottle of the flavored water.

Riley decided that if she was going to go with them, she would have to overcome her fear and actually talk to them a bit. Plus, Rick now had the gun slung over his shoulder, and Carl had put his back in the waist of his jeans. It was amazing how much calmer she felt without a weapon trained at her head.

“Rick?” she said.

“Yeah?”

“Could I have one of those baby wipes? Just one. I haven’t been able to clean up in more than a week. With one I could at least wash my hands and face.”

He held out the package. Riley opened it and was careful to only extract one cloth. It was still moist with cleaning solution. She used the tiniest section possible and scrubbed at her right hand, then switched and did her left. Another bit for her face and the back of her neck. She stole a glance at Rick who was still inspecting and organizing the supplies. Carl had wandered off somewhere. She turned her back and reached under her t-shirt to clean under her arms and breasts, hurrying in an effort to finish before either of them saw. It was funny what areas of privacy she had just abandoned and which she still clung to. Once she finished, she balled up the wipe and stuffed it in her pocket.

Rick turned toward the woods and gave one sharp, distinct whistle. “Once Carl gets back, we’ll eat.” He sunk to the ground and stretched his legs out in front of him.

Riley was about to sit near him when she saw it. “Growler!”

Before Rick could get the rifle off his back, it grabbed his arm. He leaned back and raised one foot which he swung at the growler. Without even really thinking, Riley pulled the metal spike from her hair and plunged it right into the growler’s ear. She pulled it back out, then put her shoulder against the growler’s neck and pushed so it would fall backwards instead of collapsing on top of Rick.

Carl emerged from the woods just then. “Nice one, Riley! I guess that’s 21.”

He went and sat on the hood of the car. Rick stood and went to sit next to him. Riley shook her hair out and went to join them, accepting the dinner he held out to her. They ate and passed the bottle of water around as the sun dropped.

When the last drop of water was gone – they had insisted that she finish it – Rick stood and stretched. “Anyone have any business to tend to, now’s the time. Be back at the car in 10 minutes.”

Riley didn’t wander far. She was back before either of them, using the wipe from her pocket to clean the metal spike. She had twisted her hair up and was securing it with the spike, careful not to impale her scalp, when Rick returned.

“I don’t know whether to be more impressed with your reflexes or the fact that you wear a spike capable of killing a walker in your hair.”

He swung the gun onto the ground and knelt, pulling the cuffs of his jeans from his boots. Riley noticed that her fear was dissipating. She was still afraid of growlers, of starving, of coming across people who would deserve her assumption that they weren’t among the good guys. But she wasn’t afraid of Rick.

“I started it mostly out of convenience. I hate how my hair feels on my face when it’s so dirty. This solution solves two problems – it keeps my hair up, and I have protection within easy reach at all times.”

Carl approached then, and Rick told him to take the back seat. He climbed behind the wheel again and put the key in the ignition but didn’t turn it. Riley slid into the passenger seat. The three chatted about the plan for the morning, but within a few minutes, Carl wasn’t participating in the conversation anymore. Rick and Riley talked a bit more, then he said he was going to try to get some shut eye.

Riley leaned her head against the window, but sleep wouldn’t come. Every time her eyes drifted shut, she’d startle back awake, sitting up straight and looking around, desperately trying to see her surroundings in the dark.

She finally fell into a fitful sleep, but then the nightmare came. Her breath came in short, desperate gasps as she struggled toward consciousness the way a drowning person fights to break the surface of the water.

She felt a hand on her shoulder, and she flinched, hard.

“You all right, Riley?” There was that drawl.

“Yeah,” she said, glad Rick couldn’t see the tears that had sprung to her eyes. “Just don’t sleep much these days. I mean, I never really slept that great. Worrying about all the stupid, meaningless stuff we all sweated back in the day, you know? But now, I really don’t feel safe to even close my eyes, much less to really fall deep asleep.”

“What meaningless stuff were you worried about? You know, back then?”

She shifted in the seat and looked in his direction even though she could only make out his general shape in the dark. “Oh, you know, the usual. Work, boyfriend, my mom wanting to know when I was going to settle down and give her some grandkids.”

He was quiet for a minute. “Did they make it through all this?”

“I don’t know. They’re back in Illinois. My parents and my boyfriend. At first, I thought I’d try to get back there to look for them. But I realized there was no way I’d make it that far, especially by myself.”

“I’m sorry,” he said softly. “Why weren’t you back in Illinois with them?”

“I moved to D.C. for work just a little before everything happened.” She wanted to ask about Carl’s mother but decided that would be going too far too soon. “You lose anyone or have anyone that you don’t know if they’re out there or not?”

“Oh, we’ll save that for another time. But Riley, seriously. You can sleep. I promise, if there’s anything to be concerned about, I’ll wake you. You’ll be safe. I give you my word.”

She turned to get more comfortable, leaning her head on the seat instead of on the window. Somehow, she actually believed him. She believed this man would keep her safe. As she felt herself drifting into the first real sleep she’d had in weeks, she found herself wondering, “Who does that for you, Rick? Who makes you feel safe?”


	3. Where The Day Takes You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rick, Carl, and Riley start the journey back to Alexandria. But of course, the road can never be completely smooth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is just kind of a "getting-to-know-you" chapter. Only a few more chapters before things heat up a bit!

Riley woke up squinting even though her eyes weren’t open yet. The bright sunlight was seeping through her lids. She opened them slowly, taking a minute to remember where she was. That minute proved to be crucial, since she had time to register that she’d met Rick and Carl the night before and they’d spent the night in the car. Otherwise, who knows what kind of reaction she would have had upon realizing she’d been sleeping with her head on someone’s shoulder, his arm wrapped around her and his thumb hooked through one of her belt loops. She didn’t recall how this had happened, but she wasn’t going to complain. She’d just had the best night of sleep she could remember that didn’t involve strong pharmaceuticals.

But now she needed to get out of the car. She shifted away from Rick and he released his grip. She looked out the window to make sure there were no growlers – walkers – around. Or other people. Nothing and no one was in sight, so she slowly eased the car door open, not wanting to wake her companions inside the car or attract anything from outside the car.

She stayed nearby, just out of eyesight but within earshot. By the time she made it back to the car, Carl was up and walking around.

“Morning,” she said.

“Hey,” he answered, kind of smiling and nodding at her. He held out his hand. “We never really officially met. Carl Grimes.”

She shook the outstretched hand. “Riley Dunn.”

“My dad’s gonna give me hell if I don’t get him up. He doesn’t like to waste daylight.” He went over and tapped on the window where Rick was sleeping. Riley took her hair down and tried to comb through it with her fingers the best she could. It had gotten so long that she could tie it in a knot on the back of her head, which she did, but still slid the spike through. In all her scavenging she hadn’t found any elastic hair ties.

Rick climbed out of the car and made a motion like he was tipping a hat in her direction. “Mornin’, Riley. You get some sleep?”

“I did,” she said, stretching her arms above her head. Then she met his gaze straight-on and said, more softly, “thank you.”

He smiled at her and then walked into the woods, calling back over his shoulder to Carl to get some breakfast together as he tossed him the keys.

Carl opened the trunk and looked through the bags. When he saw the baby food he said, “Oh, sweet!”

“You like that stuff?”

“No, I have a baby sister at home.”

Now she really wanted to ask about his mom, but she bit her tongue.

He set a few things out for breakfast then grabbed the bag of candy. “Here, you found this. You should keep it.” He held it out to her.

“I tell you what. My favorites are the ones with the peanuts. You like these, right?” She fished out one of the chocolate-covered wafer cookie bars and held it out to him.

“Yeah, those are my favorites.”

“You take those, I’ll take the peanut ones, and we’ll save the rest. How about that?”

“Deal.” They divvied up the loot and had breakfast ready to go when Rick got back.

. . .

They had been on the road for a while and hadn’t seen any other vehicles that they could either swap for theirs or siphon the gas. It was hot in the car. Riley rolled up the sleeves of her t-shirt and tucked them under her bra straps. “You have tattoos?” Carl asked.

“Yeah,” she said, showing him her bicep and then turning to show him the other.

“What are those?”

She pointed at the arm that was in his view. “This is justice. The other is liberty.”

“Cool.”

“What made you choose those?” Rick asked.

“I got justice while I was in law school. I got liberty when I was done, because I felt free.” She chuckled. That second half wasn’t entirely true. Not false, but definitely not the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

“What kind of lawyer were you?”

“I worked for legal aid, mostly handling cases involving domestic violence. The agency I worked for always needed money. They had me give a speech at some fancy fundraiser, and my senator happened to be there. He was really interested in the topic and had some meetings with me. Eventually, he offered me a job. That’s how I wound up in D.C. You two don’t sound like you’re from around here, either. Where are you from?”

“Georgia,” Carl answered. That explained the drawl. “My dad was a deputy sheriff.”

“That must have given you some useful skills for a situation like this. Being a lawyer absolutely did not.” She propped her elbow on the door and leaned her head on her hand. She almost missed it, but she caught it out of the corner of her eye. “Car!”

Rick pulled over, and in one fluid motion he opened the door, slid out, and had his gun up and ready to fire. Carl came next. Then Riley followed. She pulled the spike from her hair, to be ready. They crept up to the vehicle – not a car, actually, but a Jeep – and Rick made a motion with his hand that she took to mean she should follow Carl around the passenger side while Rick approached on the driver side.

The Jeep was full of walkers. It looked like a family. “We get them one at a time,” Rick said. “I’ll take the two on this side, front seat first. Carl, you take the front seat over there. Riley, you grab the back. Just open the door and go straight for the head.” She noticed that they each pulled knives from their belts. She took a deep breath, then opened the back passenger door. The walker lunged for her. Without hesitation, she lunged with the spike, right through the ear again. She hadn’t determined whether her weapon could puncture the skull, and the ear was just less gross than going through the eye.

As the walker tumbled from the Jeep, Riley saw how small it was. Just a child. She blinked back tears and pushed the absolute horror of what had just happened down to the growing spot in her gut where she’d been storing everything else she’d seen, done and endured since the end of the world.

Rick and Carl had dealt with the rest of the walkers, and Rick was patting down the pockets of the one he’d pulled from the front seat. He found a gun which he checked and found to be loaded. He walked up to Riley. “You know how to fire one of these?”

“Not really.”

“Quick lesson. We’ll train you better once we get home. You turn the safety off by pressing this button.” He showed her where to press. “Then you cock it, raise it to eye level, aim and shoot. Never point it at anyone you don’t want to hurt, including your own foot, and don’t hesitate. That’s how you get it taken and used against you.” He put the safety back on and slid the gun into her waistband at the small of her back.

He had Carl get inside the Jeep and get it started. “There’s enough gas to siphon some to the car and get these both back. Riley, you come with me. Carl, you follow in the Jeep. Stay close enough that I can see you.”

They got the gas transferred and they all piled back in the cars.

They were quiet for a while, without Carl there to keep the conversation moving. Riley found herself feeling shy now that she was alone in the car with Rick, wondering what had happened in the night that she wound up snuggled up to him.

He finally broke the silence. “You worked DV cases, huh? That’s tough work.”

“Yeah, it was. Especially when you’d go so far with a client and then she’d go back. But I understood why it happened.”

“We have a situation back at our community that you might be able to help with, if you’re willing.”

“Of course.”

He smiled at her, and she noticed again how startlingly blue his eyes were. He reached over and patted her knee. “We’ll be back soon.”

No sooner had he said the words than he slammed on the brakes. The car fishtailed a bit on the gravel road. They were approaching a thick herd of walkers.


	4. Do You Trust Me?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rick, Carl, and Riley have to try to weather a passing herd of walkers on their way back to Alexandria.

Rick pulled the car to the side of the road. Carl pulled over just behind them. Rick turned to Riley and put his hand on her arm. “Riley,” he said in his drawl, “I know we’ve known each other less than a day, and when we met I had a gun aimed at your head. But I’m going to need you to do what I say if you want a chance to get through this alive.” He looked her dead in the eyes. “Do you trust me?”

He held out his hand.

She put her hand in his and said, “yes.”

He opened the driver side door with his free hand and tugged at her gently. She raised her feet and slid across the seat behind him. “We’ve gotta get under the car,” Rick said. He held her hand as she knelt down then got on her stomach and slid under the car. He followed. “We only have a few minutes before they get here. Riley, we have to be silent. Not a sound. So we have to stay still.”

She whimpered just the tiniest bit and said, “I don’t want to be eaten by one of those things. Not while I’m alive.”

“I won’t let that happen,” he said.

She turned her head and watched the road. “Don’t do that,” he whispered and rolled on his side, facing her. “Come here.” She rolled toward him, and he pulled her close, cupping his hand around the back of her head and pressing her face against his chest. She grabbed his shirt and held on tight, willing herself into silence.

She felt them coming even before she could hear them. That’s how many of them there were. She flinched, and Rick pulled her closer, making just the barest of motions with his hand to stroke the back of her head as if he were comforting a child. He tucked his chin so his mouth would be right next to her ear and repeated, “shhh, shhh, shhh” over and over until she stopped trembling.

Riley squeezed her eyes shut, tight, and floated away inside her mind. It was something she had learned to do as a kid, on the nights he’d come into her room. Then she’d spent years in therapy unlearning it. But it came back just like the lyrics to a song she hadn’t heard in 15 years but could still sing every word.

She struggled to let herself go but not too far. There had been that one occasion when she’d basically gone catatonic, and she ended up in the hospital because her parents couldn’t bring her back. She knew that no one had time for that now, to babysit a person in the midst of a breakdown. So she let herself go just enough to get through, but not so much that she couldn’t find her way back. Attention to detail, to sensations, was what made it possible. There was the soft cotton t-shirt covering the hard muscles of Rick’s chest. His fingertips were rough but touched her head so gently. The ground was slightly damp and springy under her left side. She turned her attention to these things every time she felt herself start to panic at being curled up against a man who was, when you got right down to it, a stranger, in the middle of a migration of meandering corpses desperate for living flesh to eat.

She lost all sense of time as they waited for the creatures to pass.

Finally, she no longer felt or heard any of them pass for what seemed like several minutes.

“Riley?” Rick whispered.

“Yeah?”

I’m going to slide out and see what’s what. Stay put for the time being, a’right?”

She nodded and released her grip on his shirt.

He rolled back on his stomach and shimmied out from under the car. She watched his boots head toward the Jeep parked behind them. Then she heard him and Carl talking. A minute later, Carl’s face appeared near the front driver side tire.

“It’s safe to come on out,” he said, offering her his hand.

She took his hand but couldn’t find her voice to say anything. But she got to her feet and leaned against the car.

“We need to get moving, but we can take a minute to eat first.”

Riley shook her head “no.” She just walked around to the passenger side of the car and got back inside. Rick climbed in and started the ignition. Once they heard the Jeep’s engine come to life, he pulled back onto the road.

After several minutes of silence, Rick reached over, put his hand on Riley’s knee, and gave her a slight shake. “You all right?”

She forced herself to answer. “Yeah, or at least I will be. I’ve just never really seen anything like that.”

“Weren’t you in D.C. when this all started? I know Atlanta was hit hard.”

“I was. But I was on Capitol Hill. It was pretty secure, and there were evacuation protocols. I saw some pretty big groups of walkers from a distance, but never up close like that.”

“You got so still there for a while, I was worried maybe you’d had a heart attack or somethin'”

“No, I’ve just learned to take mental vacations when life gets a little too real. Something I know from before which has come in pretty handy.”

“Yeah, I can see that.” He gave her knee a squeeze then put his hand back on the wheel.

They drove at least half an hour before either of them spoke again.

“Riley,” he started, “you know that man you said you killed?”

“Uh-huh.”

“If you choose to stay in our community, you won’t have to worry about anything like that happening, either. Or anywhere that I am. I give you my word on that. I won’t stand for it.”

She leaned her elbows on her knees, dropped her head into her hands, and finally let herself cry.


	5. Simple Kindnesses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our intrepid travelers finally arrive in Alexandria, and Rick invites Riley to stay the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is so much to love about The Walking Dead. One of my favorites, though, is how the setting of the ZA strips life down to the bare essentials of what's really important. 
> 
> Happy holidays to anyone reading this!

Jesus Christ, Riley, pull yourself together! she thought. She pinched the bridge of her nose, hard, and willed herself to stop crying.

“I’m sorry, Rick. I swear I’m not usually like this.”

“Riley, you just made it through your first up-close encounter with a huge walker herd. The tears don’t make you weak. They make you human. Hold onto that. Don’t apologize for it.”

“OK,” she whispered, still hating that he’d seen her lose it like that, and less than 24 hours after they’d met. She was desperate to change the subject, so she said, “Carl mentioned he has a baby sister at home.”

“Yeah, little Judith. Carl’s crazy about her. We all are.”

“That’s nice, to have family.”

“Yeah,” he said, his voice wistful. He stared off into the horizon for a while after that. She turned to look out the window, trying to give him as much privacy as possible within the confines of the car.

It startled her when he addressed her maybe half an hour later, as if they’d been talking all along. “Our community is called Alexandria. A woman named Deanna runs it. We’ll need to take you to meet her, but it will be too late tonight so you’ll stay with me and Carl and Judith, and you can talk to Deanna in the morning.”

She started feeling nervous, then. What if this Deanna didn’t like her? What if she told her she couldn’t stay? She didn’t want to go back to being alone on the road.

“And hey, I didn’t want to tell you this until I was sure we’d make it back today, but you’ll be able to get a shower tonight. Hot water and everything.” He flashed that grin again.

If she weren’t worried about him crashing the car, she would have kissed him right then.

Sure enough, the sun was down when they rolled up to a gate made of fencing set inside a huge metal wall. “Here, Riley, take the wheel for a second,” he said, and she did as he asked. He rolled down the window and stretched through it, giving a wave. He settled back in and guided them through the gate which was pushed open so they could come inside. He parked the car shortly inside the gate and told a couple of people standing nearby about the supplies in the trunk.

Carl approached from the Jeep, parked behind the car, and reached in the backseat. “I’ll carry your pack for you, Riley,” he said, throwing it over his shoulder. “Our house is just a little way up here.” He started off, Rick and Riley a few paces behind.

“I think my son is pretty taken with you.”

“I gave him candy.”

“Nah, it was taking down that walker. Although the candy couldn’t have hurt.” His eyes sparkled for a second, then turned darker. “He misses his mother, too.”

She reached a hand out and touched his arm, but said nothing.

When they got to the house, lights were on downstairs. Before Carl could reach the door, it opened from the inside. Rick tensed when he saw the man standing there.

“Daryl? Where’s Olivia? Is Judith all right?”

“Yeah, everything’s fine. Olivia offered me some dinner, and she looked dead on her feet. So I told her I’d take care of Little Ass Kicker until you got back. Who’s this?” he jutted his chin in Riley’s direction.

“This is Riley. She was out on the road, on her own. I’m going to take her to meet Deanna in the morning.”

“Hi,” Daryl said, brusquely.

“Hi,” Riley replied.

“Well Judith’s been asleep for a good little while now. You need anything else ‘fore I go?”

“No, we’re good. Thank you, Daryl.”

“Yeah. G’night.” He left, shutting the door behind him.

Carl spoke up, “Dad, where should I put Riley’s stuff?”

Rick turned to Riley. “I’m gonna give you my room tonight. I’ll sleep down here.”

She started to protest, but he cut her off, “I’m gonna be the first line of defense between that door and my family. The matter’s not open for discussion. Now let’s get you settled.”

She followed them up the stairs. Carl put her bag on the bed in the first room they came to, then whispered “Good night,” before heading into another room.

Rick turned and rummaged through his drawers. He also spoke softly. People used to having a baby around. “I don’t have much to offer you in the way of clothes, but these will at least be clean for when you get out of the shower.” He handed her a white t-shirt and a pair of pale blue boxers, soft and worn. “Help yourself to whatever you can find in there. There’s soap and shampoo in the shower, towels on the rack, razors in the medicine cabinet, probably even a spare toothbrush floating around somewhere in there.”

She felt tears well up again at these simple kindnesses which were actually everything – always had been, but before, humanity was just too busy and distracted to realize it.


	6. When Words Fail

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things finally heat up between Rick and Riley!

“Throw your clothes out in the hall, and I’ll gather them up. Once we’re all finished with the shower, I’ll throw all our stuff in the wash.”

Riley looked at Rick and smiled. The words “thank you” were so hollow offered to someone who had saved your life numerous times in just over a day, and she’d said them so many times already. So she stayed quiet.

The click of the latch of the bathroom door made her jump, and she opened it just a crack. Her life since the world went to hell hadn’t known any closed doors or private spaces.

She sat on the edge of the tub to unlace and remove her boots. Next she unlatched her belt and slid it out of the loops. When she stood up, her pants fell right to the floor. She knew she’d lost weight, but hadn’t realized just how much. She quickly shed the rest of her clothes, peeked around the door to make sure no one was out there, and kicked the whole smelly pile of cloth into the hall.

The turn of the shower knob felt miraculous, that little bit of tension that told her water was coming even before it started flowing. She almost jumped right in, but made herself wait for it to turn warm.

While she waited, she examined herself in the mirror. Her hair was matted and greasy, still messily tied in its knot from earlier. She worked it loose, noticing that she could see the outline of her ribs when she lifted her arms.

Steam started rising from the shower, so she stepped inside. First, her hair. She lathered shampoo in her hands and started scrubbing at her scalp until she was convinced it was thoroughly washed. Then, soap. Again, lathering it in her hands, spreading suds over every bit of skin, even over her bruised and battered inner thighs. The man she’d killed had gotten a little farther than she’d let on to Rick.

Getting clean, though, oh, it was glorious. But she forced herself to shut the water off while it was still warm, not wanting to be a terrible guest and not leave any for her hosts.

The ritual of bathing, it came back so quickly. Clean, now, she squeezed as much water as she could from her hair; stepped out of the shower, feeling for the rug with her foot; dried her skin, then her hair as best she could. She pulled on the boxers, folded the waistband down three times before it caught on her hipbones and held up the fabric. The t-shirt, thank goodness, dropped almost to her knees, hiding the injuries on her legs. Rick had been right – she even found an unopened toothbrush under the sink, used it, and luxuriated in the feel of clean teeth.

Rick was standing in Carl’s doorway, the father and son talking quietly. When Carl saw Riley step into the hall, he told his dad to grab the next shower. She stood in the hallway, chatting with Carl for a minute, before going into Rick’s room to sit on the bed and start combing through her hair with her fingers.

She lost track of time and eventually heard Rick speaking again. “Carl,” came the drawl. “Shower’s yours. Then you need to be heading to bed.”

“OK, Dad.” He got up and walked into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him.

“We always make him go last or no one else gets any hot water,” Rick said with a wry smile. Riley looked up at him. He was standing there with just a towel tucked around his waist. His hair looked darker, wet and slicked back, only the tiniest bit of curl springing up at the nape of his neck. He had shaved, and the absence of his beard somehow made those eyes even more startling. “Sorry to have to barge in on you, but I forgot to grab any clothes to sleep in.”

She tugged at the hem of the shirt to be sure it covered her bruises. She wanted to say something, to thank him, to tell him that she saw what a good man he was, to return some small measure of the safety he’d provided her the night before, in the car, and earlier today, during the stampede. But words wouldn’t come. More than anything, she wanted to be allowed to stay. Not just here, at Alexandria, but with him.

Her face must have given her away, because he looked at her with concern. “Riley, you all right?”

Impulse took over. She stood and crossed the room, throwing her arms around him, pressing her face against his chest. His arms closed around her, “Hey, hey, it’s all right. We made it. You’re here. You’re safe.” He cradled the back of her head the way he had under the car. She pulled back to look at him. Words were failing her, so she hoped her expression would tell him what she wanted him to know. Their eyes locked, and an entire conversation transpired in that shared gaze. Eventually, his hand slid around to rest under her chin, tipping it toward him as he lowered his head until his lips found hers.

They kissed like exactly what they were – two people desperately reaching across an abyss, hoping to find a hand reaching back. They barely even pulled away to gasp for air, diving back in as soon as their lungs were full again. There was no way to tell who went deeper, whose tongue ventured forth first, who was inhaling and who was exhaling. They were just lost, together, inside that kiss.

Her arms were up, wrapped around his neck, her fingers twined in his curls. He ran his hands down her sides, lingering over the swell of her breasts, then gathered the material of the t-shirt, which he slid up, pulling away long enough to ease it over her head.

Riley knew she couldn’t withstand sex right now, not so soon after, well…

But she also didn’t want Rick to leave. It felt like life or death, keeping him in that room. Standing before him in just the pale blue underwear, she flattened her palms against his chest, running them down until she found the tuck of the towel at his waist. Her fingers pulled it loose and as it dropped to the floor, so did she, first one knee, then the other.

Riley rested her hands on the sides of his hips as she ran her lips the full length of his dick. He grew harder with each tiny bit of progress she made, and she relaxed her throat to let him slide inside. She increased the pressure as she retraced her path, flicking her tongue over the tip when she finally reached it. Rick groaned her name and threaded his fingers through her hair. She felt him sway just a tiny bit and strengthened her grip on him, developing a rhythm, squeezing her lips tighter around him with each drawing in and drawing out.

“Oh. Fuck. YES!” She felt him tense, warm liquid eased down her throat, then he went slack. All of him. He put a hand out behind him, feeling for the bed, and sat down. “Damn, Riley. I don’t think I have anything left for you tonight, darlin’.”

She handed him the boxers he’d dropped on the floor along with her t-shirt. “That’s all right,” she smiled and pulled the shirt back over her head. “I reckon we’ll have a chance to try that again.”

He pulled the boxers on just as the water shut off in the bathroom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually have several subsequent chapters of this posted on my blog, and it's taken quite a different turn than I expected when I wrote this chapter. But I still love this chapter as part of the journey these characters are on.


	7. Stay

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rick takes Riley to meet Deanna to see if she can stay in Alexandria.

Riley woke with the sun again the next morning. She slipped out of bed and went into the bathroom. She almost took another shower, but she settled for washing her face and brushing her teeth. Then she walked quietly down the stairs, thinking she’d try to find some food and have breakfast ready for Rick and Carl when they got up. Rick was asleep on the couch, and she hadn’t heard any sound coming from Carl or Judith upstairs.

But when she opened the cabinets, she was so overwhelmed with all the choices that were there, she didn’t know what to do. Surely they had to ration, but she couldn’t get over all the canned fruits and vegetables, the jars of peanut butter, the canisters filled with oats and pasta and rice. Deciding it was best to leave all that alone and just offer to cook for them once they got up, she instead pulled out a tea bag – mint, her favorite – and found a pan to heat some water.

The bag was almost done steeping when she heard that soft drawl. “Mornin’ again, Riley.”

She suddenly felt intensely shy and under-dressed. Her behavior last night had been extremely out of character. Not that there was really much left of being *in* character since no one had been forced to live in a world like this before. But still, her forwardness shocked her. And now she had to face Rick while not wearing any pants. But there was no way around it, so she turned and gave him a shy smile. “Good morning. I was just making some tea. Do you want some?”

“Nah, we’re not really tea drinkers. I think that’s still here from whoever lived in this house before the outbreak.”

He crossed the room toward her, put one hand on her waist, and gave her a quick, soft kiss. He leaned his forehead against hers and said, again, “Good mornin’.”

She wrapped her arms around his neck and repeated the greeting, too. She was about to kiss him back, because why not?, but she heard footsteps on the stairs. She felt her face go red as she backed away.

Carl eventually came into sight, holding a baby girl. “Riley!” he said. “You’re still here! This is my little sister Judith.” He bounded over to her, and the little girl held out her arms. As if acting on reflex, Riley took her and settled her on her hip. The child burrowed her head into Riley’s side.

“She likes you,” Carl said with a smile. “You want to hold her while I get her food ready?”

“Sure,” she answered, smoothing the little girl’s hair.

Rick leaned over and whispered in her ear, the feel of his breath on her neck giving her goosebumps. “You’re a big hit with both my children.”

He returned to a respectable distance before Carl came back. “So what would you like for breakfast, Miss Riley? We have oatmeal, corn flakes, we can make toast with peanut butter. What’s your pleasure?”

“Oatmeal is fine by me. I’d be happy to make some for everyone.”

“No ma’am. You are a guest in our home. Carl will feed Judith and I will cook breakfast.”

Carl set Judith’s food on the table, then took the smiling baby from her.

“Oh,” Rick added. “Your clothes are in there.” He nodded toward a small room off the kitchen.

She headed in the direction he indicated and found all her clothes from the night before clean and folded on top of a dryer. She carried the stack back out to the kitchen. “Would either of you happen to know if there’s a sewing kit or a needle and thread around anywhere?”

“Look in those weird drawer things over there,” Carl said, pointing at a set of shelves that held cloth boxes. Riley sorted through them. The woman who had lived here, once, must have enjoyed cross stitch as a hobby. She sorted through the pile of skeins of thread to find a shade of tan that would somewhat match her pants and carried it along with a needle and a pair of scissors over to the kitchen table.

She sat in one of the chairs, tucking her right foot under her left leg. The button came off the pants with one definitive snip of the scissors. She left the remnants of thread and placed two fingers next to them, positioning the button to the side of her fingers. She hoped this would be enough to keep her pants from falling off again. She began to sew it back on, just like her mom had showed her back in that other lifetime.

Rick came over with three bowls, spoons, a jar of peanut butter and a jar of honey. “Don’t forget the cinnamon, Dad.”

“Right, thanks, Carl.” He gave Riley and her sewing project a quizzical glance, then understanding dawned in his eyes. “We don’t have an abundance of food here, Riley, but we have enough.”

“You’ll be able to get some clothes today, too,” Carl added. “Olivia will help you.”

“Olivia? That’s who you expected to be here last night, with Judith?”

“Yeah, she runs the pantry, and she’s also a great babysitter.”

Rick came over with the oatmeal and served each of them up a nice serving. They doctored up their bowls and sat around the table, eating, making pleasant conversation. It was almost as if the world weren’t overrun with reanimated corpses hellbent on tearing the flesh from their bones.

Riley finished her breakfast and took the clothes upstairs to get dressed. She stopped back in the bathroom and rummaged through the drawers a little more thoroughly. She found a little cup of elastic hair ties and bobby pins. She combed through her hair again, noticing how much more grey was starting to streak through the dark blonde, and quickly separated her hair and fashioned it into two long braids. She pulled them up to the top of her head, criss-crossed them, and secured them with the bobby pins.

She ran into Rick in the hallway, coming out of his room dressed in black jeans, a blue shirt that made his eyes look all the more vibrant, his cowboy boots, and a belt that held a small hatchet, a gun, and a knife. He touched the side of her head. “Don’t you look pretty? You ready to go meet Deanna?”

“Ready as I’m going to get, I suppose.” She followed him downstairs, outside, and on a short walk to a house more in the center of the makeshift town.

They walked up to the porch and Rick knocked on the door. The door opened, and the woman inside said, “Hi Rick,” then looked at Riley and pushed him out of the way.

“Riley Dunn!” she exclaimed as she hugged her.

“Congresswoman Monroe!” Riley laughed and hugged her back.

“You got out!”

“I did. The Senator made sure everyone got out safe. He refused to leave us.”

“Rick” Deanna started, “you apparently already know Ms. Dunn. She was instrumental in some joint legislation her boss and I worked on regarding domestic violence cases. She’s quite remarkable.”

“You don’t have to tell me that.”

“Eventually we’ll need to do our official taped interview, but that’s just a formality. And of course I’ll want to hear how you wound up here. For now, let’s get you settled. That’s assuming you’re willing to stay. We certainly want you to.”

Riley braved a look at Rick. He met her eyes and held her gaze. “Please. Stay.”


	8. Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Riley starts settling in at the Alexandria Safe Zone

Deanna and Rick started to lead Riley out of the house to show her around the community, but they stopped when they heard a voice.

“Rick? Deanna?”

Riley turned and saw a young woman come around the corner.

Deanna’s face lit up. “Maggie! Perfect. Come meet my friend Riley.”

Maggie put her hand out, and as they shook she said, “Nice to meet you, Riley.”

“You, too.”

“How do you know Deanna?”

“I worked on Capitol Hill, before…”

“Riley worked for one of my colleagues in the Senate. Our offices collaborated on some legislation. We got to know each other well. She’d be great to help with our plans.”

Riley put her hands up. “I’m happy to help plan, but I don’t need to be in charge. I’m not here to step on anyone’s toes.”

Maggie smiled at her. “We need people who know how to lead.”

Riley forced a smile in return. She didn’t know how good she’d be at leading. She was still just trying to figure out how to survive in this world.

Rick spoke up. “Let’s show her around, then I know she could use some clothes.”

“We need to find you a place to sleep, too,” Deanna said.

“Actually, if it suits her, I thought Riley could stay with the kids and me. They’ve both taken a liking to her.” His eyes twinkled with the unspoken truth that he had, too.

“That’s fine with me,” she said.

“Maggie,” Deanna said, “can you stay here and keep an eye on things?”

“I sure will. Nice to meet you, again, Riley. You’ll have to come to supper with my husband and me one of these nights.”

“Thanks.”

They wandered through the town, first showing her the wall that kept out the walkers, then pointing out the pantry, the infirmary, the church, the houses of people that had been on the road with Rick and Carl before they got to Alexandria, the people Rick trusted to take care of Judith.

They ended up at the house where they kept all the clothes they’d gathered from the homes in the community and found on scavenging runs.

“I’ll leave you ladies to it,” Rick said, shaking Deanna’s hand before he left. “You know how to find your way back to the house, Riley?”

“I do, Rick. Thank you.” She watched him walk away.

Deanna turned to her and asked what size clothes she needed.

“I’m not quite sure. I know I was a size 8 before everything started, but those clothes will barely stay up now.” Her voice grew quieter. “It was hard finding food out there.”

“We should be able to reverse that, but for now, let’s see what we have in a size 4.”

The clothing was very well-organized, and soon Riley had a duffel bag filled with jeans, another pair of cargo pants, tank tops, t-shirts, a long-sleeved denim shirt, and a black leather jacket. She felt kind of silly about it, but she also grabbed a white cotton nightgown trimmed in eyelet.

“We have plenty of books if you want to read something, too. Rick knows where everything is. Carl, too. They’ll be able to help you with anything you need.”

“I was really lucky to run across them. I can’t believe this place exists.”

“Welcome, Riley. I truly am so glad you’re here.”

Riley shouldered the duffel and headed back to Rick’s house. She found him on the couch, bouncing Judith on his knee, singing softly, “You are my sunshine, my only sunshine…”

He smiled at her and nodded, still singing, indicating that he wanted her to sit. She did so, in the arm chair near the couch. Once he finished the song, he pulled Judith close and said, “Carl’s at school now, so I thought we could take this chance to talk a minute.”

“OK,” she said, feeling shy again.

“Riley, last night, I want you to know, that’s not like me. I don’t usually try to get a woman into bed that soon after meeting her.”

“Rick, it’s fine. I started it, for one thing, and the rules just aren’t the same now. It’s not like a person can ask someone out for dinner and a movie, buy flowers, hold hands in the dark, try to work up the nerve to pull the ‘stretch and reach’ move. That’s all gone, and there’s not that kind of time to waste. Whatever happens, I’m good. No regrets.”

“Just to keep things simpler for Carl, I’ll keep sleeping on the couch for now. But I asked you to stay because I want you here. I want you in Alexandria, but I also want you here, with me.”

Riley got up and went over and sat next to him. She leaned her head on his shoulder, and he wrapped his arm around her. “You’re pretty smooth, Rick Grimes.”

“Guess I didn't need that ‘stretch and reach’ move, huh?.”

She smiled as he dipped his head to kiss her. It was soft and tender, and her stomach flipped.

Judith reached for her, and she took the baby girl, snuggling her close.

She had learned not to count on things staying the same from one day to the next, but for now, in this moment, she was safe. She was warm and clean and fed. She was happy. And she was home.


	9. Jump

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Riley learns that everyone is infected and helps ward off a walker threat inside the walls at Alexandria.

Judith fell asleep snuggled against Riley’s side, and she held her for a few minutes before finally handing her to Rick who tucked the baby into a little carrier that Riley’s mom would have called a “pumpkin seat.”

Almost immediately, a scream erupted on the street outside the house.

Rick and Riley both flew out onto the porch.

Riley stood there, slack-jawed, at the scene unfolding. A young girl, probably about Carl’s age, was running down the street, screaming.

Following behind her were three walkers.

Chasing after the whole lot of them was Carl. “Enid!” he cried. “Get inside a house! And quit screaming!”

She turned her head to look at him and tripped over something in the road.

As she struggled to get her feet back under her, the walkers closed the distance. One reached out trying to grab her leg.

Rick put one hand on the porch rail, propelled himself over it like a pole vaulter, and grabbed the walker before it could get a solid grip on the girl. He slammed it back onto the ground, holding it down with one hand while his other pulled the hatchet from his belt. He slammed it into the creature’s head with enough force to split it in two.

Carl caught up to them and aimed a gun at one of the other two walkers. He pulled the trigger and put a hole right between its eyes.

But the third had closed in on Enid. It reached for her and fell, closing its grip over her ankle. It started pulling itself toward her, its jaw snapping all the while.

Riley didn’t think. She just climbed up on the porch rail, tried her best to figure out the velocity she’d need and match her push-off, and flung herself at the walker.

She landed on top of it. It stopped paying attention to the girl and shifted its focus to her. She grabbed it and rolled over, dragging it with her, away from the young girl. She put her hands around its neck, struggling to keep its teeth away from her.

Just as she was sure her strength was going to give out, a pair of hands grabbed the walker’s head, pulling it away from her and then slamming its head onto the pavement.

“Hold it there, son.”

Rick walked over and drove the hatchet into its forehead.

“Are you both OK?”

The girl Carl had called “Enid” said that she was fine. Carl helped her up.

“I’m a little banged up, but OK,” Riley said, scrambling to her feet.

“What was that? How did walkers get in here?”

“That actually looked like a family that lives a couple of streets over. One of them might have died of natural causes, turned, and then infected the other two.”

“People turn even if they’re not bit?”

“Yeah,” Rick said. “Unless you take out their brain. That’s why you have to use a head shot to stop a walker. It also prevents the dead from becoming a walker.”

Riley felt herself sway a bit.

Carl looked at her, his expression turning to one of fear. “Riley, are you OK?”

“Yeah, I think I just need to sit down for a minute.”

Rick rushed to her side and put an arm around her.

“You’re bleeding!” Carl said, coming toward her. Her head started spinning. “You’re not bit, are you?”

Rick scooped her up in his arms. “Carl, run ahead and make sure Pete is at the infirmary. If he’s not, FIND HIM! Enid, can you stay with Judith?”

“Yeah,” she said.

“I’ll have Carl send Maggie or Olivia to help you as soon as he can. She should sleep for a while.”

“It’s fine – just go!”

He ran with her curled against his chest.

Pete was standing holding the door open when they got to the infirmary. “Get her on the table,” Riley heard him say.

She was trying to stay conscious, but she felt so dizzy and tired. She was barely aware of someone pulling her pants off and raising her shirt.

“Where is all this blood coming from?” Rick was clearly frantic.

“I think you’re going to need to step out and let me examine her,” was the last thing Riley heard before she slipped into the dark of unconsciousness.

. . .

Riley opened her eyes and had no idea where she was. Then she felt the pain in her abdomen, and an involuntary gasp escaped her lips.

“Riley? Riley? You awake?” She hadn’t realized a hand was grasping hers, but it tightened its grip. “Carl, go get Pete!”

Rick used his other hand to smooth back the bits of hair that had come loose from her braids.

“What happened?”

“We had to fight off some walkers. You jumped on one that was about to bite a girl named Enid. Then you started bleeding and you passed out.”

“Oh,” she said, struggling to keep her eyes open.

“Pete gave you some medicine. He said it would probably make you drowsy.”

“All right.”

“Riley, I hate to have to ask you this. But that man you killed? He didn’t just try to rape you, did he?”

She turned her face away from him. He must have seen the bruises.

“Sweetheart,” Rick drawled, “Pete says all that blood was from… well, dammit Riley, I’m so sorry.” He looked like he was about to cry. “He says you were most likely pregnant and lost the baby.”

Tears started streaming down her face then. She whispered, “I didn’t know. I really didn’t.”

Pete stepped into view, and Rick laced his fingers through hers even tighter than before. Carl came to the other side of the bed and put his hand on her shoulder.

“Miss? I’m Pete. I’m the doctor here in Alexandria. Surgeon, actually. From the look of your injuries, I’d say this happened about six weeks ago. Is that accurate?”

She nodded.

“That’s consistent,” he said softly, more to Rick than to Riley.

“You didn’t suspect anything? When you were late?”

“I really didn’t think that much of it, ” she answered, willing herself to go numb. “I just figured it was weight loss and dehydration. Plus it gets so hard to keep track of time, out there.”

Pete nodded. “You’re going to be sore for a couple of days, and you’ll probably have some cramping. You need to stay off your feet as much as possible, and drink plenty of fluids. I think you’ll heal up just fine with some time. You can stay here tonight, or go on back to Rick’s. Wherever you’ll be most comfortable.”

She turned and looked at Rick. “I want to go home.”


	10. Lost

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Riley deals with the stunning news she received from Pete in chapter 9.

“Hold on a minute,” Pete said before walking out of sight.

Riley looked back and forth between Carl and Rick. “Sorry about all this, but thanks for taking such good care of me.”

Rick squeezed her hand. Carl blinked repeatedly like he was trying not to cry.

Pete came back into view, carrying a bag and a neatly folded pair of scrubs. “You’re going to swim in these, but they’ll get you home.” Under a blanket, Riley hadn’t realized that her clothes were gone until just now. She was wearing her bra and socks, and that was it.

“There’s some Ibuprofen in here, and a hot water bottle. I recommend you take 2 of the pills, get in a hot shower – no baths, they increase your risk of infection, be sure to drink something, then stay in bed as much as possible for a day or two. If you can find anything to eat that’s high in iron, that would be smart – cereal, raisins, spinach. You lost a lot of blood.”

He handed her the bag. She peered inside as best she could from her prone position and noticed there was also a package of pads.

When she looked back up at Pete, he continued, “If you have to change those every hour, or if you start running a fever, feeling dizzy, or your pain gets worse instead of better, have someone bring you back or come find me. OK?”

“OK. Thank you.”

“I’ll let you get dressed.”

She let go of Rick’s hand, gathered the blanket around her, and sat up. “Can you guys give me a minute?”

“Sure, come on, Carl.” They stepped onto the porch.

Riley pulled the scrub top over her head. She found a pair of underwear mixed in with the pants. She carefully turned her feet to the side of the bed, and then wriggled the cotton cloth over her feet, as far up her legs as she could, then gently eased her hips off the bed to pull them up to her waist. Moving slowly, she stood up, dealt with the pad, and got the pants on. Her fingers tugged the drawstring as tight as she could around her waist before tying it. The cuffs dragged on the floor, but she figured she’d just roll them and tuck them into her boots.

Where were her boots?

She turned to look for them, and a cramp doubled her over. Involuntarily, she cried out in pain. Almost instantaneously, Rick and Carl were were back in the room and at her side.

Rick helped her back over to the table as she said, “I’m fine. Really. I was just looking for my boots.”

“I think I know where they are,” Carl said, wandering off to get them.

When he came back, Riley held her hand out to take the shoes from him, but before Carl could hand them over, Rick stopped him.

“Carl will carry those for you, and this bag.” He picked it up and handed it to his son.

“Rick, I need those to walk home.”

He walked back over to her, scooped her up, and said, “No you don’t.”


	11. Comfort

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rick and Carl get Riley settled back at their house after her medical ordeal.

Riley felt a little ridiculous being carried when she could easily walk. But she kept quiet. It wasn’t that far to the house, anyway. When they got there, Carl ran ahead to open the door for them.

Rick gently set her down on the sofa. “First, food. Then shower and bed.”

“Do you like almond milk or soy milk better?” Carl asked.

“Either one is fine.”

His voice came back from the direction of the kitchen. “Soy milk has more iron, so you’re getting soy!”

Riley couldn’t help but smile.

“You must be Riley,” came an unfamiliar female voice.

Riley turned her head and saw a pretty woman with short, curly grey hair and a welcoming smile.

“I am.”

“Riley, this is Carol Peletier. Carol, Riley Dunn.”

“Nice to meet you,” Riley said with a smile.

“You, too. Any friend of Rick’s.” Carol smiled back at her.

“Rick, do you need me to stay and take care of Judith?”

“No, we’ve got it. But thank you.” He went over and opened the door for Carol, kissing her cheek as she passed.

“Let me know if you need anything. And tell Carl goodbye.”

“Good night.”

Carl came back with a bowl of cereal. It had some raisins in it. Riley was so touched she had to blink back a couple of tears. “I made you some tea, too. Mint, right? I saw the tea bag this morning.”

She ate the cereal and sipped the tea. Once the drink was cool enough, she used it to wash down two of the Ibuprofen.

After some disagreements about how much help she needed – all of which Riley lost – she was showered, dressed, and lying in bed with her head propped by several pillows.

Rick pulled his boots off and sat next to her, stretching his legs out in front of him. Carl came in with Judith and settled into an armchair that sat in the corner of the room. The baby fussed a bit, and Carl pulled a book out from behind his back. It was a classic by Dr. Seuss, one of Riley’s favorites.

She had a bottle of water which Rick kept reminding her to drink from. She tucked it under one arm and linked her other through Rick’s, threading her fingers through his. She leaned her head against his shoulder, listening to Carl’s voice recite the well-loved poem about all the possibilities of life, drifting off to sleep before it was finished.


	12. Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rick opens up about a little of what he's been through since the ZA.

Riley’s eyes flew open. Someone seemed to be shaking her awake. It took a minute to remember where she was, but once she did, she whispered, “Rick?” and blinked rapidly, somehow thinking that would help her eyes adjust to the darkness more quickly.

She tried to sit up, but she realized there was a weight holding her down. Gradually, as she became able to see better, she realized that the shaking wasn’t actually someone trying to wake her at all. It was Carl. His head was resting on her stomach, and he was sobbing. Riley reached out and started smoothing his hair, over and over, saying, “Hey, Carl, it’s OK. It’s OK. Calm down. Everything’s all right.”

He finally sat up, tears streaming down his face, and said, “I’m sorry I woke you up. I know you need rest.”

“I’m OK, Carl. Are you OK?”

“Yeah,” he said, brushing away the tears on his face. He whispered,”I just don’t want you to die.”

Riley sat up and pulled one leg under her, making room for Carl to sit facing her on the bed. She patted the open space, and when he sat down, she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him close, rubbing her hand over his back to try to comfort him. She rocked back and forth just a little, too.

The motion must have woken Rick, who sat up quickly and asked, “what’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Sorry, Dad. Go back to sleep. I just got a little freaked out, worrying about Riley.”

“I must have fallen asleep in here.” Rick said, suddenly realizing what was happening.

“We all did. I woke up a few minutes ago and put Judith in her crib, then I came back to check on Riley. I didn’t mean to wake anyone up. It just reminded me of…” He let that sentence dangle. Rick seemed to understand what he meant, but Riley had no idea.

“Riley,” Rick drawled, sleepily, “I’m going to go get Carl settled and then go sleep on the couch. Sorry to fall asleep in here.”

Carl gave his dad some side eye. “Dad,” he said, “maybe you should stay in here. Just to be sure Riley is OK.” His expression silently added that they weren’t fooling him as to what was going on between them.

Riley couldn’t blame him. She had been holding his father’s hand during their impromptu story time the previous evening. And while Carl was still a kid, he was clearly not a child.

“Maybe that’s a good idea.” Rick finally said.

He left the room for a few minutes, and Riley got up to use the bathroom.

When they both got back, Riley picked up the water bottle before he could remind her to take a drink.

“I’m sorry about all that, Riley. I think it’s time to answer a question you asked me when we were on our way to Alexandria.”

She turned and looked at him. So many emotions were churning in that vivid blue of his eyes.

“Carl’s mother – my wife, Lori – we lost her when she gave birth to Judith. There was a problem with the delivery. We were living in a prison, and walkers got in and we were having trouble with some prisoners we’d let stay there. Carl was with her and Maggie when she went into labor. Maggie had to perform a C-section to save Judith. Lori knew she wasn’t going to make it, but she begged Maggie to save the baby. After she bled out, Carl couldn’t bear the thought of her turning. So he shot her in the head.”

Riley pulled him close just like she had Carl earlier. At first he stayed unbending. Then he relaxed against her shoulder. Eventually, she felt tears starting to dampen her shirt.

She held him like that for a while, not speaking and letting him cry.

After a while, he gave her a squeeze and let go. He sat back and looked at her again.

“So I’d guess that seeing you collapse, all that blood, then hearing you were pregnant – I’m sure it brought all that back again.” He rubbed his forehead. “I know it did for me.”

Riley took his hand.

“This world, it’s everything I’m supposed to protect him from, as his father. We’ve lost so many people, Riley. So many. But we’ve also gained all this family. Daryl, Maggie, her husband Glenn, Carol, and some other people you haven’t met – Sasha, Tara, Abraham, Rosita, Eugene. Now you. Glenn says something that really gets to the heart of it. He says that we honor the dead by continuing to live. So I can’t just shut down. I have to keep surviving, but also keep living.”

Riley put her hands on each side of his face, but she didn’t lean closer. It felt disrespectful in that moment. She waited for him, and he did come to her, eventually.

His kiss was different this time, not so desperate, more tender. Riley clung to him, kissed him back. He pulled her onto his lap, and she wrapped her legs around his waist, wanting to be as close to him physically as she felt emotionally.

They kissed for a few minutes more, then he threaded his fingers through her hair and pulled her close, just holding her against him.

Finally, he said, “I better let you get some sleep.” They pulled away just long enough to lie down, then wrapped themselves around each other again.

As Riley drifted back to sleep, Rick whispered against her hair, “Don’t you go dying on me, Riley Dunn.”


	13. Better/Worse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Riley is still recovering from her ordeal, but there's a problem in Alexandria that can't wait much longer.
> 
> (For those of you who've asked if these two can just get to it already, tune in tomorrow!)

A week had gone by since the day Riley had passed out after jumping on the walker that was about to bite Enid. Riley was going absolutely stir crazy. She’d only been downstairs once since then – just to make a cup of tea. But Rick had seen her, thrown her over his shoulder and carted her right back upstairs and put her to bed. She’d barely had a moment alone since then. If Rick or Carl weren’t doting on her, they’d had various friends stopping by to “check on” her with Daryl always seeming to be nearby, rushing up the stairs anytime he heard her set one foot on the floor. She had tried to argue with him at first, but he’d knelt on the floor by the bed, looked her square in the eye, and said, “Rick isn’t losing you. Not if I have anything to say about it.”

She had tried to be a better patient since then.

The upside was that she’d gotten to know people pretty quickly. Maggie, Carol, Aaron, and Eugene had spent the most time there, other than Daryl. But Glenn, Sasha, and Abraham had been around a fair amount, too. And Father Gabriel, who Riley had grown to like all right even if he did want to talk about God all the time and wouldn’t let up about saying a funeral mass for the baby she’d lost. She couldn’t bring herself to tell him that she didn’t know how she would have felt about the pregnancy even if she’d known about it. He didn’t know the details of the conception or that Riley had killed the baby’s father. She preferred to keep it that way.

She heard the water stop in the shower, and she braced herself for the sight of Rick in just his towel. He always wrapped it low on his hips, exposing the taut muscles of his abdomen that gave her thoughts she wasn’t supposed to act on for at least another week. Not that everything was off limits, but Rick wasn’t taking any chances.

Sure enough, here he came, not only in just the towel, but he hadn’t shaved. He was all scruffy and rugged-looking and Riley finally had to look away until he got dressed.

He sat on the edge of the bed to put his socks and boots on and turned to Riley.

“Riles,” he said, using the nickname he’d been calling her for the past couple of days, which sounded like "Ryals" in the Southern drawl that she never failed to charm her, “how’re you feeling?”

“I’m honestly feeling fine, Rick. Pete came to see me yesterday and said I’m doing great. He even said my iron level appeared to be good, based on the insides of my eyelids, I guess? You guys have been taking excellent care of me.”

Rick didn’t look happy about that news like Riley had expected.

“Everything OK?”

“Remember when we were talking about how you’d worked on domestic violence cases, and I said there was a situation here you might be able to help with?”

“Yeah, now that you mention it, I do remember that.” She tried to think of who this could be.

“It’s actually Pete that we’re concerned about. We’re almost sure he’s been hitting his wife, maybe his kids, too. His younger boy asked Carol for a gun so he could protect his mom.”

“Oh, no. That’s awful.”

“Yeah. And we have to figure out what to do about it.”

“Well, the first thing is to determine what his wife wants to do about it. If she wants away from him, that initial period of time, right after he’s told, will be the most dangerous. She will either need protection, or he’ll need to be guarded. There’s all the logistical stuff, too – does he move out of the house or does she? Where does the one who leaves go? Normally, if the person being hit left, we’d encourage them to keep their new address a secret. But how do you do that in these circumstances?”

“I think we’re going to try to talk to his wife today, Deanna and me. It might help if you were there.”

“Absolutely. I’m happy to help.”

“I’ll come home for lunch today, then we’ll go talk to her, while Pete is still at the infirmary.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

He leaned down, cupped her chin in one hand, and gave her a long, slow kiss goodbye.

“See you later, Riles.”


	14. Touch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A bit of pleasure for Rick and Riley

Riley stayed in bed after Rick left, snuggling under the covers, thinking she’d indulge some of those thoughts that had been inspired by Rick in his towel. And she did, but eventually the warmth of the blankets and her ongoing tiredness won out, and she drifted back to sleep.

She startled awake when Daryl came into the room and touched her shoulder. “Riley,” he said. “Riley!” It sounded more like Raleigh, with his accent that was vaguely similar to Rick’s.

“Rick said he was comin’ back for lunch and then you two were goin’ somewhere. He’ll probably be here soon.”

“What?” she said, sitting up a bit and trying to focus. “Oh, OK. Thanks, Daryl.”

She pushed the covers off. “I need to jump in the shower.”

“I’ll be downstairs,” he said, and she heard his footsteps on the stairs.

She tied her hair up, pulled off her nightgown and left it crumpled on the bed, and quickly showered. She dried off in the bathroom and hung up her towel, rushing back to the bedroom to get dressed.

She ran right into Rick.

He put his hands on her shoulders. “Whoa, Riles. I was just up here looking for you.” She backed up to look at him, and she saw the look of recognition come over his face as it dawned on him that she was standing there completely naked.

“Riley…” he started, but then instead of saying anything else, he moved his hands to her waist and kissed her. She put her hands on each side of his face, rubbing her fingers over that stubble she’d been thinking about earlier that morning, and kissed him back. As his tongue found hers, she slid one hand around to run her fingers through the curls at his neck.

He broke away and kissed the side of her face, then her neck. Shivers ran through her entire body. She found the buttons of his shirt and hurriedly opened them, sliding her hands inside to run over his chest.

Rick lifted her off the floor, and she wrapped her legs around his waist. He carried her over to the bed and eased her down. “Damn, are you beautiful,” he said, pulling off his shirt and unfastening his gun belt, letting them both drop to the floor, never taking his eyes off her.

He positioned himself above her, careful to keep his weight on his knees which were between her open thighs. She wrapped her arms around him, again twining her fingers in those curls. He kissed her again, even deeper and hungrier than before. His right hand found her left breast, kneading the flesh in his open palm and tweaking the taut nipple between his fingertips. She moved the hand that wasn’t stroking his hair down and rested it on his ass.

He pulled back so he could look at her. “What’s OK here, Riley? I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Just nothing inside,” she answered, breathy.

“We can work with that,” he answered, sliding his hand down between her thighs until he found the exact spot he was looking for.

She moaned, and he quickly covered her mouth with his to muffle the sound.

The skin of his fingertips was rough, but his touch was gentle and feather-light.

She reached for his belt buckle, opened his fly, and eased his dick, so warm and hard, out of his pants. They fell into a mutual rhythm, rubbing and stroking, his mouth on her tit, teasing her nipple with his tongue and even, on occasion, with his teeth. Riley put her free hand to her mouth to keep from crying out, realizing that Daryl must still be downstairs with Judith.

She tightened her grasp on him, and after a few more times running her hand down his length, he came, hard, gasping against her breast.

He kissed her nipple one more time before sliding down so he was kneeling next to the bed. He picked up where he’d left off with his fingers, only using his tongue.

Riley lost track of everything, then. She forgot where she was, she forgot that she was living in this surreal world where corpses walked around, she would have been hard pressed to even remember her own name. Her entire body was humming, and as the pressure built, she cried out “yes!”

Rick paused what he was doing long enough to say, softly, “quiet, darlin’.” Then he went back to applying delicious pressure to her clit with his oh-so-skillful mouth. He put his hand on her stomach, and she reached down and laced her fingers through his, squeezing as she felt the explosion of every nerve ending in her entire body gather at the spot where his tongue touched her, burst, and then spread back out so that she felt suspended, weightless, outside of time and physicality as the orgasm overtook her.

Rick climbed back onto the bed, lying beside her and giving her a quick, soft kiss, before saying “We’d better get downstairs for lunch. Not that Daryl probably has much doubt what we’ve been doin’ up here.”

He stood up and fastened his jeans, put his shirt back on, buttoned it up, and started tucking it in.

“I’m going to need just a minute,” she said, unable to keep the grin off her face.

He winked at her, his facial expression similar to hers, as he put his gun belt back on, leaned down and gave her another kiss.

“Take it. And I can’t imagine I need to say this, but that was amazing.”

“Likewise,” she said, smiling up at him.


	15. Intervention

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rick, Riley, and Deanna try to intervene to help Jessie and her kids stay safe from Pete.

Once Riley felt like she could safely stand up, she quickly got dressed and went downstairs to find Rick, Carl, Daryl, and Judith all sitting at the table, lunch waiting for her.

“It feels so good to be dressed and downstairs!” she said, smiling at them all. “Sorry it took me so long.”

They ate and heard about what Carl had been up to that morning – playing video games with a couple of the other kids in town – and how much he would rather not go to the makeshift school that afternoon. The younger kids went in the morning, the older ones after lunch.

When they finished their meal, Daryl picked up his crossbow. “Since Riley is doin’ better, I thought I’d go hunt.”

“Sure, Daryl. Olivia can watch this little one,” Rick said, picking Judith up from her highchair and giving her a kiss on the head.

They all left to go their separate ways, Rick and Riley dropping Judith off with Olivia before continuing on to Deanna’s house.

“Riley,” she said, “I think you have the most experience with talking to victims of domestic violence. Why don’t you take the lead?”

“Are you sure? She doesn’t even know me.”

“Yes, I’ll get started, but we need your expertise.”

“OK, I’ll do my best.”

They walked up on the porch of a house that was pretty similar to the one where Riley lived with Rick, Carl, and Judith. Deanna stepped to the front of their small group and knocked.

A pretty blonde woman answered the door. “Hi,” she said, sounding uncertain.

“Jessie, hi. We wanted to introduce you to a new member of our community. This is Riley,” Deanna said, putting her hand on Riley’s arm and pushing her slightly toward the door.

Jessie smiled and held out her hand. “Hi, Riley. Nice to meet you.”

Riley shook her hand and said, “You too, Jessie.”

“Why don’t you all come in? Sam just finished lunch and is upstairs playing. Ron just left for school with Enid and Carl.”

They followed her into the house. After a few minutes of small talk, Deanna moved to the business at hand.

“Jessie, we’re here because we’re concerned about you. We think Pete might be hitting you and the kids.”

Jessie started twirling her hair around her finger. At first it looked like she was going to deny it, but she finally said, “He had it under control. Before. But he’s gotten worse since all this happened.”

“I asked Riley to come with us to talk to you today because this is the kind of work she did back when we still had jobs with paychecks.”

Riley smiled, hoping to convey compassion. “There are people who can help you, Jessie. But we have to know what you want to see happen in this situation.”

“He can change. I know he can. He did it before.”

Rick spoke up then. “Jessie, Sam asked Carol for a gun so he could protect you.”

“Oh my God,” she said. Silent tears began to stream down her cheeks. “I do my best to protect the kids, but there’s really not a way to get away from him right now. That’s what I used to do – I’d leave for a couple of days until he’d cool down. But where are we supposed to go?”

“Is that what you want to do? Or would you rather stay here and have him kept away?”

“It would be easier on the kids to stay here. But who’s going to keep him away?”

“It’ll take probably 3 or 4 of us, but we’ll have a couple of people guard him, probably at the infirmary. And have one or two keep watch here, just to avoid taking any chances.”

“Can you get the people together today?”

“I think so. If I can, do you want us to talk to him today?”

Jessie looked down. Riley moved over next to her.

“Jessie, this has to be your decision.”

She was silent for a couple of minutes. Then she finally said, “Yes, if you are sure you can keep me and my boys safe, then talk to him.”

Rick stood. “I need to go find Aaron and Abraham. We’ll grab Daryl when he comes back from hunting. Riley, why don’t you stay here? Jessie, do you mind if Riley takes care of Judith over here for tonight? If you’re all here, I’ll feel better so I can make sure all of you are safe.”

“Of course.”

He leaned down and kissed Riley’s cheek. She reached out and grabbed his hand, giving it a squeeze. “Be careful,” she said, looking into his eyes.

He pulled the gun out of its holster on his belt, checked to make sure it was loaded, then put it back. Jessie winced.

“I will,” Rick told Riley. “That’s a promise.”


	16. Confrontation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Riley stays with Jessie while Rick and some of the others go to confront Pete.

“Were you a cop, too?” Jessie asked Riley once Rick had left.

“Oh, no. Lawyer.”

“Oh, OK. You saw a lot of situations like this?”

“I did. A lot of my salary was paid by a grant to help people get out of domestic violence situations.”

“I just hope this works,” Jessie said.

“Did you live here, before all this?”

“Yeah, we did. So at least that part hasn’t been too traumatic for the kids. Where were you, before?”

“I had just moved to D.C. for work maybe two months before the outbreak. I’m originally from a small town in Illinois, just across the Mississippi from St. Louis.”

“It must be hard, not being near there, now.”

“I’ve adjusted. It’s the not knowing that gets you. It feels disloyal to grieve for them, because that means I assume they didn’t make it. But looking around, just based on the odds, it doesn’t seem hopeful.”

“Hey, you know what always cheers me up? A haircut! I used to be a stylist. I can do yours, if you’d like. It will help pass the time, and if Pete comes home before the guys have a chance to talk to him, it would explain what you’re doing here.”

“OK, sounds great!”

They continued chatting as Jessie gave Riley a much-needed cut. There was a brief pause when Ron, Jessie’s son who was about Carl’s age, got home from school. He talked to his mom for a minute then went upstairs to his room. They were almost done when Aaron and Abraham arrived, followed by Carl who was holding Judith.

“Hey, Riley,” Carl said. “You feeling better?”

“I am, Carl. Thanks.”

“I’m going to take Judith upstairs and Ron and I are gonna play video games.”

“OK, have fun!”

Once he was upstairs, the two men walked over. Aaron spoke. “Rick and Deanna are talking to Pete now. Daryl is right outside the infirmary in case there’s trouble. Abraham is going to stay guard outside here. I’m going to stay in here with you, but I’m available to back Abraham up if he needs me.”

“Oh boy,” Jessie said, picking up where she left off with Riley’s hair. “OK. This was the right thing to do. I know it was. OK. OK.”

A few more snips and she declared Riley’s hair finished. “Do you mind if I go up and check on the boys?”

“You do whatever you need to do. Don’t mind us.” Riley gave her an encouraging smile.

Abraham added, “It might be best if you stay up there, Jessie, as much as possible. Just for tonight.”

“Sure. I may send the kids down to eat later, but I don’t think I’m going to have much of an appetite.”

“We’ll make sure they get something,” Aaron said. Then he turned to Riley. “I’ve been instructed not to let you do much of anything,” he said, grinning at her.

Abraham walked over to her. “Except to fire this, if you need to.” He handed her the gun that Rick had found on the walker when they were on their way to Alexandria. He tapped a radio strapped to his belt. “Rick will be in contact with us. Aaron has one of these, too. We’re all going to get through this night. Don’t you worry your skull. If Pete tries anything, we will shut him down like a strip club where the dancers are catching the clap from grinding on the pole.”

Riley thanked him and he walked out onto the porch as Jessie headed up the stairs.

“Guess that leaves us, Riley,” Aaron said with a smile. He pulled a deck of cards out of his pocket. “Want to play some rummy or something?”

“Sure. We’ve got time, right?”

“And then some.”

Aaron dealt the cards. Riley started asking him about his life here at Alexandria. She already knew that he’d also worked in D.C. for a while, in politics and then at a NGO doing relief work in Africa. Aaron jokingly referred to himself, his boyfriend Eric, and Riley as the HDG squad – HDG standing for “hippie do-gooders.”

“You’re looking really good, by the way, Riley. And I don’t just mean your hair.”

“Thanks. I’m feeling a lot better, too.”

“Yeah, you’re definitely healthier. But there’s something else, too. You look … happy.” His devilish grin told her there was more to it than that. Riley felt her cheeks go red. Aaron’s expression turned more serious. He put his cards down and reached over and covered her hand with his. “He’s a good man, Riley.” Then he went right back to the game.

They passed the evening that way, chatting and playing cards, taking a break to eat dinner and feed the boys. Jessie stayed upstairs.

They were sitting on the couch, Riley fighting sleep, when the radio on Aaron’s belt crackled to life. “Trouble possibly heading your way.” Riley recognized Daryl’s voice. Aaron was quickly up and out on the porch, talking to Abraham.

Aaron came back inside. “After they talked to Pete, he started drinking and passed out. But he woke up a little bit ago, and stormed outside. Daryl is pretty sure he shot him with an arrow, but he kept moving. Rick is coming over here. Daryl and Abraham are going to go look for Pete. I need to get back out there.”

“Yeah, of course. Go!”


	17. Hostage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pete shows up, and he's none too pleased at being told to stay away from his wife and sons.

Almost as soon as Aaron closed the door behind him, the door into the house from the garage opened, and Pete staggered inside.

“Riley,” he slurred, “what’re you doin’ here?”

He started walking toward her.

“Jessie gave me a haircut.”

“Ahhh, all right, I thought maybe you were part of this nonsense of me not living with my wife anymore.” He was standing uncomfortably close by the time he finished his statement.

“What do you mean?” Riley asked.

“Your boyfriend who thinks he’s in charge of everything ’round here, he told me I can’t come to my home, can’t be around my wife or children. Does that sound right to you?” He was holding a knife. Riley just concentrated on keeping him calm.

“Pete, I know you’re a good man. You saved my life! I know you don’t want to hurt anyone. Maybe you should put that knife down.”

“Maybe you should mind your own business. I’m going to talk to Jessie.”

Before he could get to the stairs, Daryl burst through the same door Pete had entered, crossbow raised. Pete grabbed Riley, and within a second or two he was standing behind her, his arm wrapped around her neck, a knife held to her throat.

Aaron and Abraham burst in, guns raised. “Pete, you let her her loose! Or I’m going to bring a world of hurt on you like a sumo wrestler squeezing a guy’s nuts between his ass cheeks.”

“You put your guns down,” Pete said, still slurring his words. “Put ’em down or I’ll slice right through her jugular. Don’t fuck with a surgeon with a knife!”

Each of the men slowly squatted, placed their weapons on the ground, then stood back up. Riley noticed Aaron press a button on his radio.

She tried again to go away inside her head, but she had to stay present enough to be careful with her movements and not press up against the knife that was flush against her skin.

Aaron stepped forward, his hands up, and started to speak. She focused on him. “Pete, you need to let Riley go. This isn’t going to help anything.”

“Yes it is, because by holding her like this, you’re all going to let me walk right up those stairs to see my wife and sons.” He started walking backwards, pulling Riley with him.

Aaron kept talking to him in a calm, measured tone. His hands remained up, but he kept moving to Riley’s left. Pete turned to keep him in his direct line of sight.

Out of the corner of her right eye, Riley noticed the same door Pete and Daryl had come through start to inch open. Eventually, Rick, crouched low, eased through the opening. Pete was still paying attention to Aaron. A whole conversation transpired between them, just in the looks they exchanged. Riley continued moving with Pete as he followed Aaron.

Finally, they turned just enough. Rick raised his gun and fired one sure shot. It hit Pete just above his ear. Daryl rushed toward them and grabbed Pete’s hand, keeping the knife from cutting Riley’s throat.

Aaron started up the stairs, intercepting Jessie who was racing down to see what happened. He gently turned her around and ushered her back up the stairs.

Riley felt the adrenaline that had flooded her system dissipate, and she collapsed on the floor. Rick was at her side in a split second.

“Riles, I am so sorry. Are you all right? Did he hurt you?”

She just leaned against him and sobbed. Eventually, she was able to say, “I’m OK.”

Daryl spoke up. “We’ve got this, Rick. You get her home.”

“Carl and Judith are upstairs,” Riley finally said. “We have to get them.”

“I’ll take care of it,” Abraham told him. “You go on home.”

But Carl came bounding down the stairs. He ran straight over to Riley, dropped to the floor next to her, and put his arms around her.

“You killed Ron’s dad,” he said, looking at Rick.

“I didn’t have a choice son. I did…”

Carl interrupted him. “Thank you.”

Aaron came down the stairs carrying Judith. Daryl took her. “I’ll take Little Ass Kicker. Y’all get Riley home.”

Rick and Carl helped her to her feet, then stood at her sides, wrapping her arms around their shoulders, theirs around her waist.

“Let’s go home,” Rick said, leading the way.


	18. Burden

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Riley has a strong reaction to being held hostage.

Riley was silent all the way home.

She let the guys help her up the stairs and then asked for a moment in the bathroom. Once she was alone, she turned the water on in the sink, full blast, cold. One, two, three handfuls splashed on her face and she started to feel a little more present. A glance in the mirror showed her drawn face, still so gaunt, her hair coming loose from the braids she had pinned around her head like a crown. It had become part of her uniform: jeans, black t-shirt, boots, hair done up like she was headed to ballet practice or something.

She dipped her whole head under the water, let it soak her hair, then stood and let it drip down as she stared at herself even longer. There was no getting around it. She was getting attached to Rick. Carl and Judith, too. But she was making them unsafe. Rick had risked himself so many times already to keep her safe. She simply couldn’t keep putting him in these situations.

“All right, Riley,” she whispered to her reflection. “What are your options here?”

She could talk to Deanna about moving to a different house, try to keep her distance. But she knew, deep down, that wouldn’t solve anything. This place wasn’t big enough to avoid someone. And the truth, of course, was that she didn’t want to avoid any of them.

Other options came and went, but the only thing that made even a little sense was for her to leave. She wanted to stay in Alexandria. She wanted to stay here with people, where she would have a home, where there were at least glimpses of the life they had all lived before. She wanted to stay where Rick was. But she’d be damned if she’d let him keep putting himself in danger for her sake. He deserved to live. Judith and Carl should have their father.

The knock at the door startled her. “Riles,” he said softly, “you OK in there? Can I come in?”

“Yeah,” she said, in answer to both his questions.

He walked into the bathroom and came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her, meeting her eyes in the mirror. “Riley, I am so sorry.”

She turned to face him, still in his arms. No words came to her. She just leaned her head against his chest. He kept one arm tight around her and used the other to cradle the back of her head in the way that was becoming so familiar.

“I just need to brush my teeth and I’ll be done in here.”

She disentangled herself from him and set to work. He stepped next to her and started brushing his teeth, too. It felt so domestic, like they were an everyday couple. Riley kept her eyes down, finished, and went to the bedroom. She sat on the edge of the bed, pulled off her boots, then got under the sheets still wearing all her clothes. When Rick slid in next to her, she kept her back to him and feigned sleep.

She lay there awake for a long time, just listening to him breathe. She finally drifted off only to wake up a short time later to find that Rick had curled up behind her, one arm wrapped around her middle, his breath warm on her neck. She laced her fingers through the hand that rested on her stomach and let the tears fall.

The next morning, she showered, changed, and had breakfast on the table when everyone came downstairs. “Good morning,” she told them, keeping her voice even.

They ate their meal, talked about their plans for the day, and Rick went off to tend to his constable duties.

“What are you doing today, Carl?” she asked.

“I usually go over to Ron’s before school, but I’m not sure I should do that today.” Carl looked down at his plate. She’d been so caught up in her own head that she hadn’t thought about the fact that the kid’s dad had just killed his best friend’s dad.

“Yeah, I can see that it might be too soon.”

“I thought I’d just help you take care of Judith, if that’s OK.”

“Sure, that’s just fine.”

Her plan would just have to wait until he left for school.

The morning went by faster than she would have thought, playing with Judith and talking with Carl. Rick came back for lunch, and he said he would take Judith over to Olivia’s for the afternoon. He waited until Carl left, and then he walked over to Riley, looked deep in her eyes for a long moment, then cupped her chin and gave her a long, deep kiss.

“Take care of yourself, Riles.”

“I will, Rick. You, too.”

Once he left with Judith, she went back upstairs and threw a few things into a bag before she lost her nerve. Then she headed toward the wall.

She was almost there when she heard a voice. Daryl.

“Where you think you’re going?”


	19. Tough

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Riley and Daryl have a pivotal conversation about her future at Alexandria.

“I was actually looking for you, Daryl.”

“You were? What for? I thought you was sick of me around all the time.”

“No. I just didn’t want to admit that I needed help. But I do.”

“You’re doin’ better. You sure you’re not just sneakin’ off?”

“I am doing better. But I’m not tough, Daryl. Not in the ways I need to be in this world. I need to learn how to fight.” She pulled the bag off her back, opened it, and pulled out a gun, a knife, and the spike she used to wear in her hair. “Will you teach me to use these?”

“You’re serious.”

“Absolutely. I want to be able to help protect this place and the people I love, not just rely on them to protect me all the time.”

“Why didn’t you ask Rick?”

“I don’t want him worrying about me even more than he already does.”

“I’m not sure you can do much about that.”

“I at least want to try. I can’t stay here if I’m going to be a burden.”

“A’right. I’ll help you. But it’s not gonna be some secret. We’re gonna tell Rick what we’re doin’. Nothin’ good ever comes from secrets.”

“He’ll want to help.”

“Yeah, why wouldn’t he? He was a cop. He’s saved all our lives countless times. You should let him help. It don’t make no kind of sense that you’re even out here talkin’ to me about all this.”

Riley was silent for a couple of minutes. Daryl just let her be. She finally said, “I was thinking of leaving, after last night. But then I couldn’t do it.” She looked down at her hands. “I love them, Daryl. I know it’s crazy. I’ve only known them a little more than a week. But I love Rick. Carl and Judith, too.”

“That’s not crazy. Leavin’ woulda been. But not lovin’ them. I love them, too. They’re family. And since I can tell by the look Rick gets on his face every time he looks at you or talks about you that he loves you, that makes you family, too. We all protect each other, Riley. That’s how this works. Steppin’ up is fine. Learnin’ to survive. But you’re part of us. No matter what.”

“Thank you, Daryl.”

“You ever fired a gun?”

“Can’t say as I have.”

“We don’t need you out tryin’ to shoot walkers until you know what you’re doin’, OK? But Carl told me you took one down with a metal thing you wore in your hair. So there’s hope for you, that’s for sure. And you’re tougher than you think.”

“Well, those are things I did before. I want to be ready for what comes next.”

“All right. We’ll get you ready. Me, Rick, Abraham, Sasha. We’ll teach you.”

“Daryl! Riley! Come quick!” Maggie was running toward them, yelling at the top of her lungs. “It’s Rick!”


	20. Accused

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> News of Pete's death has spread around Alexandria, and people are demanding answers - and possibly Rick's banishment.

Daryl and Riley took off running as fast as they could. They had almost caught up to Maggie when a cramp doubled Riley over.

Daryl knelt down in front of her. “C’mon. Get on.”

She wrapped her arms around his neck, and as he stood up, he reached back and hooked his wrists under her knees, at the sides of his waist. He started running again, barely slowed by her weight on his back. They followed Maggie to Deanna’s house.

They were still several yards away when they heard the angry voices. They stopped and Daryl set Riley back on her feet. He turned to Maggie. “What’s goin’ on?”

“Did Rick kill Pete last night?”

“Yeah, ’cause Pete was about to kill Riley.”

“He was. He had a knife to my throat.”

“You best get in there and tell these people that. They’re turning on him.”

They hurried into the house. Riley went to Rick’s side and slid her hand through his.

“What’s going on?” she whispered to him.

He didn’t answer, just pulled her closer.

So many people were talking at once that Riley couldn’t make out what any of them were saying. It was all just an indistinguishable murmur.

“Everyone, everyone! Please, quiet down!” Deanna climbed up on a chair to try to get the group’s attention.

Riley tightened her grasp on Rick’s hand while simultaneously shifting her brain into lawyer mode. She had a feeling Rick was going to need a good defense here in a minute.

“Before we rush to judgment, I think we need to hear what Rick has to say. But first, let me tell you what I know of the situation. First, since she’s going to be important to what I have to say, let me introduce you all to Riley Dunn. I knew her before I came to Alexandria, when I was still a Congressperson. She worked for one of my colleagues in the Senate, from Illinois. She’s been with us for about a week. Most of you haven’t met her because she was injured stopping a walker from biting Enid the second day she was here, and she’s been recuperating since then. She lives with Rick and his family. They found her out on her own when they were on a supply run.”

Riley raised her hand that wasn’t twined with Rick’s and said hello to everyone.

“Yesterday, following information from several sources, Rick, Riley, and I went to talk to Jessie Anderson about concerns that she and her sons were being abused by her husband Pete. She asked us to speak to him about staying away from her, which we did. Rick and Daryl Dixon stayed at the infirmary to keep an eye on Pete. Aaron and Abraham Ford went to the Anderson home to make sure Jessie and her boys were safe. Since Riley is still not fully recovered from her injuries, Rick asked that she stay there, too, so he’d know she was safe.

“After we spoke with Pete, he started drinking and passed out. I left at that point, and Rick and Daryl stayed at the infirmary. I’m going to let Rick tell you what happened after that.”

“When Pete woke up, he stormed out of the house. Daryl shot him with an arrow, but he kept going. We tracked him to his house, where we found him holding a knife to Riley’s throat. I shot him to keep him from killing her.”

Daryl spoke up. “Every bit of that is true. Aaron and Abraham saw it all, too. You can get them here if you have any other questions.”

“I’d like to say something, if I could.” Riley kept her voice low and calm.

“You have the floor, Riley,” Deanna said.

“I have known Rick Grimes for all of 10 days. In that time, he has saved my life four times. Last night was the first time he had to save me from another living person. Pete Anderson also saved my life, after the walker attack. I wanted to believe the best about him, but he was dangerous. He held me at knife point last night. He put a knife to my throat to try to convince Daryl, Aaron, and Abraham to let him go upstairs and get to his wife and children – the same wife who had asked for help to keep herself and those children safe from him. If Rick hadn’t shot Pete when he did, he would have killed me for sure, and then he would have gone up the stairs of his house where his wife and children were hiding from him, and who knows what he would have done to them. I know we don’t live under the same laws as before. But even back then, a killing was justified not only if it was in self-defense, but in defense of others. That’s what Rick did last night, he acted in defense of others. Not just of me, but of Jessie, Ron and Sam. His actions were justified. No question.”

No one spoke for a few minutes. Finally, Deanna said, “Some of you have asked that Rick be removed from Alexandria. Now that you’ve heard from some of the people who were there, does anyone have any other questions?”

The room stayed silent for several minutes.

“OK, then I’m ready to make my decision.”


	21. Protector

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rick opens up to Riley after after the meeting at Deanna's.

“Some of you came to me today wanting answers. That’s understandable. We haven’t had any instances of a living person killing another living person here in Alexandria until now. But, from the statements of everyone who was there, what Rick did was justified. And it saved innocent life. We need Rick Grimes here. This matter is closed.”

His hand still clasped in hers, Riley could feel Rick relax.

“Let’s get out of here,” he whispered to her. And they did.

Riley wasn’t sure where they were going. It wasn’t the direction of Rick’s house. They ended up at Daryl’s. Daryl perched on the arm of a chair. Rick sank down on the couch and buried his head in his hands. Riley sat next to him and angled herself so she could rub his shoulders.

They were all silent for a moment. Then Rick started sobbing, quietly, but Riley could feel it. She shifted so she was sitting up on one knee, wrapped her arms around his neck, and held him as he cried.

Daryl stayed put, not saying anything, just being present with his friend in his pain.

He finally stopped shaking in Riley’s arms. She pulled back and settled in next to him, resting one hand on his leg.

“I thought they were going to make me leave,” he said, rubbing his forehead. “And I could have dealt with that. I know how to survive. But my children deserve a home. I want to create that for us, here.” He picked up Riley’s hand from his leg and laced his fingers through hers. She closed her fingers over his, hoping he understood the gesture to mean that she wanted that, too.

“They didn’t make you leave, man.” Daryl said after a few minutes had passed. “You’re still here. It’s gonna be OK.”

Rick turned to Riley then. “I really didn’t have any choice but to kill him, Riley. I couldn’t let him hurt you. I gave you my word that I’d keep you safe. But it wasn’t just for you. I had to keep you alive for Carl. I had to keep you alive for ME.” He put his hands on her face and kissed her, long and deep. Riley kissed him back, even with Daryl sitting right there.

When he eventually broke away, there were fresh tears on his stubbly cheeks. He stood up and asked them to give him a minute. He walked further into the house, and the sound of water running started up in the distance.

“Riley, you know about Lori?”

“Some, yeah. Enough, I think.”

“I was there for that. He’s not goin’ through it again. We start trainin’ tomorrow. I’ll come for ya.”


	22. Connection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a celebratory dinner with Daryl, Rick and Riley share a steamy night in and out of the shower.

“You’ll come for what?” Rick asked, walking back into the room.

“Dinner,” Riley said quickly. “I hope that’s OK.”

“Of course. Daryl is always welcome in our home. He knows that.”

“It’s conditional on one thing, though. You two have to let me cook!”

“I don’t know ’bout that,” Daryl said, laughter in his eyes. “Didn’t Rick tell me you were from up north somewhere? I aint never heard of a good Yankee cook.”

Riley got up and gave him a playful punch on the arm. “Yeah, yeah. Come on. Let’s go get Judith.”

When they arrived at Olivia’s, she rushed up to Rick and hugged him, then did the same to Riley. “I’m so glad you’re both OK!” Rick went over and picked Judith up from where she was playing on the floor. “You have a minute, Riley?” Olivia asked.

“Sure,” she said. “You two go on. And stay out of that kitchen!”

The guys headed off with Judith. Once they were gone, Olivia grabbed Riley’s hand and said, “Come with me.”

She took Riley to a door, fished a key from her pocket, and turned the lock. “These are the special occasion rations. I thought you might like to pick something out.”

“Thank you, Olivia. That’s very kind of you.”

“Just let me know when you’re done, so I can lock the door.”

Riley looked around, taking in the nuts, candy, canned meats, and other rare finds. She tried to think about the items in the cabinets back home. She finally settled on a can of sloppy joe mixture, then she went to find Olivia. “I’m taking this,” she said, holding out the can. “Can I grab a few things from the general pantry, too?”

“Sure, Riley. Take what you need.”

She wandered the shelves of provisions, finding exactly what she needed: some flax seeds, apple cider vinegar, unflavored soy milk (unlike the vanilla back at the house that Carl ate on his cereal), some nutritional yeast, and a box of cornmeal. They had some almonds and coconut oil back at the house. “Can I have all these?”

“Sure, no one else takes any of those things, anyway, except maybe the soy milk. You know how to use them?”

“I sure do. My boyfriend, from before, he was vegan. I picked up a few tricks about replacing eggs and dairy cooking for him.”

She made her way back to the house. Carl was home, and he, Daryl and Rick were sprawled in the living room, playing with the baby, talking and laughing. She enjoyed listening to their friendly chatter as she cooked, occasionally being drawn into the conversation.

She used the sloppy joe mix, adding beans, a chopped onion, garlic, and using some of the prized ration of chili powder and cumin to make chili. She ground flax seed and dissolved it in water to add with soy milk to the cornmeal mix. And for the kicker, she blended soy milk with apple cider vinegar, nutritional yeast, coconut oil and ground almonds, whisking the mixture until it started to get thick, then put it in the refrigerator to firm up while the chili simmered and the cornbread baked.

She went in and sat with the guys while the food finished cooking. Carl offered to set the table.

When it was ready, she served them each a bowl of chili, put the cast iron skillet on top of a folded dishtowel in the middle of the table then covered it with another towel, and got the dish out of the refrigerator.

Carl wandered over. “Is that actual chili? With meat?”

“It sure is,” Riley said, pulling the towel off the skillet. “And cornbread.”

Rick came up next to her and slid an arm around her waist. “And is that – butter?”

“Well, margarine, but yes.”

Daryl looked at her skeptically. “Where’d you get that?”

“I made it.”

Daryl raised his glass. “My apologies to the chef.” They clinked glasses and the table fell silent as everyone ate.

They ended up playing cards late into the night. Judith had been long asleep by the time Daryl headed home, and Carl said he was too tired to shower – he was going straight to bed.

Rick and Riley cleaned up the kitchen. As she finished washing the last of the dishes, Rick came up behind her, wrapped his arms around her waist, and kissed her neck. Shivers ran through her entire body. He whispered in her ear, “Could I interest you in a shower?” He went right back to dotting her neck with quick, light kisses. It felt like there was a nerve that started right where his lips were touching her skin and took a direct path to end right at the meeting of her thighs.

She couldn’t form a coherent response. She just murmured, “mmm,” both out of assent and pleasure. He switched to the other side of her neck, leaving a trail of kisses behind her ear, and he slid his hands up, cupping them under her breasts, rubbing his thumbs in unison over her nipples. “Let’s get you upstairs,” he breathed into her ear.

They hurried up the steps, quietly, grasping each other’s hands.

Once they were in the bathroom with the door locked, Rick pulled Riley close. He gave her a long, deep kiss, their tongues tangling until they had to break apart to catch their breath. They each pulled the other’s shirt off, then started kissing again .Riley grasped the sides of Rick’s face and sealed her lips tighter over his as he deftly unhooked her bra. She dropped her hands so he could pull it off. He covered her with his hands, recreating the motion he’d used over her clothes at the sink. He kissed her again, and Riley could feel how hard his dick was, straining against his jeans. When he leaned his head down to flick his tongue over her nipple, she gasped in pleasure. She needed more.

“I need to get these boots off, Rick.” He lifted her and sat her on the edge of the sink, kneeling in front of her and resting one foot on his thigh. He made quick work of removing one boot, then the other. Then he rose and pulled off his own boots. Riley got up and ran her hands down his chest, then unfastened his belt and his fly and pulled his jeans and his boxers down to his ankles. He stepped out of them, leaned over and started the shower, unbuckled her belt, and slid her jeans and panties down until they were in a pile with the rest of their clothes on the floor.

He pulled her to him, their flesh pressed against each other, and held her close. He wrapped one hand around the back of her head and asked, “Could you take your hair down?”

She turned to face the mirror and looked at the reflection of the two of them for a minute before feeling along her scalp to find the pins holding her braids up, slipping them out, then starting to unwind her hair. Rick reached up and stilled her hands, finishing the task himself. When her hair was down around her shoulders, he stared at her for a long moment in the mirror. “I can’t get over how beautiful you are, Miss Riley Dunn.”

Two quick steps and they were in the shower. Rick grasped her against him and found her mouth with his again. But then he turned her and stood behind her, again kissing her neck, but running his hand lower, cupping it over her, finding the slick nub that made her moan his name when he tweaked it gently between two of his fingers. She flattened her palms against the shower wall as he whispered in her ear, “You like that, Riles? Tell me how that feels. I want to make you feel so good, baby.”

“It feels amazing, Rick,” she barely whispered as he rubbed slower and more deliberately, his rock-hard dick pressing into the small of her back. “Yes, Rick, yes, yes,” she said in time with his finger strokes. She found one of his hands, guided it to her breast.

“I can’t wait to make love to you properly, Riley,” he said, his hands taking up the same rhythm, one on her nipple, the other on her clit, where he pressed just a bit harder and faster. She turned her head to kiss him, and just then, the pressure that had been building broke through, and she cried out, the sound muffled by their kiss. They clung to each other, mouths locked, until the water turned cold. They climbed out of the shower, dried each other off, and carried the pile of clothes to their room.

Rick headed to the dresser, but Riley grabbed his hand and led him to the bed. He sat on the edge and she knelt in front of him. “You don’t have to do that, Riles.”

“I want to, Rick. I want to make you feel as good as you made me feel.”

She cradled him in her hand then took him deep into her mouth. She let his dick slide into her throat, tightening her lips around the shaft, then pulling the tip through her lips like she was easing a thick milkshake through a straw. “Oh, God, Riley,” he sighed, burying his hands in her hair. She wrapped one hand around him, her fingertips teasing at his balls, and focused her mouth on the head, sucking while running her tongue around the ridge on the underside. She looked up at him, saw him biting his lip as he made muffled sounds of pleasure. He looked down at her, locking eyes, an entire conversation transpiring in that shared gaze. He cupped his hand around the back of her head in the way that had become so familiar to her and he grunted out her name as he came, the salty liquid slipping down her throat.

He pulled her up onto the bed, and they slept the whole night, naked, wrapped in each other’s arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a little long, but I didn't want to break it up. It's my intention to keep posting a chapter every day. I'm interested in people's thoughts!


	23. Train

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rick is going to help Riley learn to fight - with one condition.

“What’s that pounding?”

Riley hadn’t even opened her eyes yet when Rick’s voice woke her. Then she heard it, too.

He got up, pulled his jeans out of the pile of clothes they’d left on the floor the night before, and slid them on as he walked toward the door. He opened it to find Daryl standing there.

“You two aint up yet? Good Lord, the sun’s been up for hours.” He looked at Riley, who pulled the covers up a bit more snugly, given that she still wasn’t dressed. “I told you I’d come early for ya.”

“Sorry, Daryl.”

“We’ll be down in just a minute,” Rick added, shutting the door again.

While Riley hurried to get dressed, Rick asked, “So what are you and Daryl up to?”

“He’s going to teach me to fight.”

“A’right.”

There was a bit of tense silence. He stood behind her, put a hand on her shoulder, and added, softly, “Why didn’t you ask me?”

Riley turned to look at him. “I didn’t want you to worry. You’ve been in danger so many times since we met, because of me. I thought it was time I learn to protect myself and the people around me instead of having to rely on other people to protect me all the time. I mean, when Pete pulled that knife on me, I had a gun, Rick. I had the gun you sent with Abraham, right there at my back, and I didn’t even think to use it. I wouldn’t have known how, but Pete didn’t know that. I might have been able to prevent the whole thing. But that’s not how I think. I’ve got to change, toughen up some. Out there, I was doing my best to survive. But I wasn’t living. I feel like I’m building a life here.” She swallowed, looked down at the floor, then finally lifted her eyes to look straight into his. “I’m building a life with you. With Carl and Judith. And I want to be able to fight for it if need be.”

“We are building a life, Riley. We are.” He pulled her close for a second, then let go. “We better not keep Daryl waiting any longer.”

“I’ll be right there. Just have to get these boots on.”

When she arrived downstairs, there was a bowl of cereal waiting on the table and the guys, who had been joined by Abraham, Sasha, and Aaron, were talking about a training strategy.

“Where are Carl and Judith?” she asked.

“They’re with Carol,” Daryl told her.

Sasha held a hand out for Riley to slap, which she did.

Aaron gave her a hug.

Abraham just said, “We’re gonna teach you to fight like a dog that knows it’s going to the vet to have its nuts chopped off.” Then he leaned closer and added, “And no man will ever lay hands on you again, lest you want him to.”

She sat and ate her cereal while Rick explained that Aaron was going to train, too, and possibly some of the others.

“We’re not gonna start with guns,” Daryl told her. “I don’t want you relyin’ on ’em too much, and then we run out of ammo or somethin’ and you still can’t protect yourself. We’re gonna start with knives.”

“OK,” she said. “Whatever you think is best.”

“I have a condition, though, Riles,” Rick said.

“What’s that?”

“I want you to get checked out by a doctor. There’s another one here in Alexandria, she’s been over at the infirmary since what happened with Pete. It’s only been, what, eleven days? I want her OK for you to train.”

“All right,” Riley agreed. “I’ll go see her.”


	24. Caution

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rick and Riley meet Denise. Rick wants her take on Riley starting a training program, but Riley has something else on her mind.

“We don’t all need to go, though.” Riley said.

“No, just you and me,” Rick said. Riley smiled at how he drew out the last word, making it sound like “may.”

The group walked outside. Daryl pointed and said, “We’ll be out that way, near the wall.”

“We’ll be there soon,” Rick said.

They headed toward the infirmary. Rick knocked on the door. A young woman with a blonde ponytail answered the door.

“Hi,” she said. “I’m Denise.”

“Rick Grimes,” he said, holding out his hand. As she shook it, he added, “This is Riley Dunn. Think you could check her out? It’s probably best if we come in.”

“Sure,” Denise said, opening the door wider and stepping aside to let them through. “Come on in.”

As they walked in, Denise explained that she had been a psychiatrist, not a surgeon like Pete. So she was trying to get up to speed on the type of medicine the community would need.

“This is really a follow-up visit,” Riley explained.

“OK.”

“11 days ago I jumped off the railing of a porch to tackle a walker. Afterwards, I started bleeding and passed out. Pete told me I’d been pregnant and lost the baby. He told me to take it easy for a couple of weeks, no baths, rest, lots of fluid, eat as much iron as I could.”

“That all sounds right.”

“Some of us are going to start training, and Rick just wanted me to get a doctor’s OK before I joined in.”

“How have you been feeling?”

“Good. Only a tiny bit of cramping still, no bleeding at all. No fevers or dizziness.”

“That all sounds good. I think it should be fine for you to train. Just don’t overdo it.”

“Thank you, doctor,” Rick said. He turned to Riley. “I guess we’ll go join the others.”

Riley didn’t move.

“Everything OK?” he asked.

“I actually had another question for Denise.”

“Sure,” she said. “What can I do for you?”

“Well, Pete also told me no intercourse for 2 weeks, but after that, it should be fine.” She looked down, not able to meet anyone’s eyes. “Is that right?”

“As long as you’re feeling up to it, sure.”

“OK,” she said. Then she finally looked at Rick. He was watching her with a concerned expression.

“I’m worried about this happening again. So I guess I’m looking for some options for birth control.”

“Oh, well, let me see what we’ve got here. I haven’t had a chance to go through all the inventory yet.”

Rick came over and rubbed her shoulders. He leaned down and whispered in her ear, “We could just keep doin’ the things we’ve been doin’, Riles.”

She smiled at him. “Never hurts to ask, right?” she whispered back.

He grinned and winked at her.

“Well,” Denise said, walking back into their view. “We do have a decent stash of birth control pills. I’m not sure how that’s being handled, though. I suspect there are a lot of women who would like to take them. I don’t see any other options here. I’m guessing if there are condoms around, people have them in their houses.”

“OK,” she said. “Thanks for checking. And it was nice to meet you.”

“You, too, Rick. Riley.”

They left and headed off toward where the others were gathered to train. Rick took her hand. “Riley,” he said, “this hasn’t been somethin’ I’ve had to consider before. The next time we go on a run, I’ll take care of this.”

Riley squeezed his hand. “Any chance you’re going on that run in the next 3 days?”

He wrapped his arm around her waist and hooked his thumb through her belt loop, the way they’d slept that first night in the car. She put her arm around his waist, too, and they laughed as they walked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If I were stuck in the zombie apocalypse, you'd better believe I'd be taking every possible precaution to avoid getting pregnant. This chapter deals with that issue.


	25. Force

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Training Begins

Riley stopped laughing right quick when they reached the others. She blinked a couple of times, wanting to be sure her eyes weren’t playing tricks on her. There was a row of walker heads on the ground.

As she reached the group, Daryl walked up to her. “Come over here, Riley. I want you to test out how some of these different knives feel in your hand. You need one that’s heavy enough to work but not so heavy you can’t swing it good.”

She picked up a few different knives, staying away from the smallest ones.

“Don’t be afraid to try the littler ones. Some of ’em have some heft.”

“Yeah, but then you have to get so close to whatever’s trying to kill you.”

“That’s what hand-to-hand is, Riley.”

“OK,” she said, trying out each of the knives.

She picked a couple and held them out to Daryl. “These feel pretty good.”

“OK, come over here.” She followed him over to where Aaron and Sasha were standing near the walker heads. She wanted to ask where they came from but thought better of it.

“Give me those,” he said, holding his hand out for the knives. She did as he asked.

He swung one, then the other, and handed the first one back to Riley. “Try that’n.”

She watched Aaron lift a machete over his head and bring it down in a slicing motion on one of the heads. It split in two and brains splattered out. She struggled to keep her expression neutral and focused on not throwing up.

Daryl stood next to her. “You don’t have to do it like that. You’ll find what works for you.”

She stood contemplating the head on the ground. “You won’t always get a chance to prepare yourself, but if you can, you want to plant your feet. Figure out your aim. Then just go for it. Don’t take a lot of time, because they can lunge, or another one could come up from behind.”

“All right,” she said. She planted her feet, took a look at the walker head, and stepped forward, plunging the blade into its forehead. When she tried to pull it back out, it caught on something.

Daryl stepped up and put one boot on the head. She was able to pull the blade right out.

“That was good Riley. It didn’t look like you struggled to use enough force to get the blade in.”

“No, it felt OK.”

“A’right, do some more. You need to get fast and you need to get accurate.”

She stepped over to the next head in the line and went for the side of the skull this time. She was able to pull the blade out without using her foot, and she immediately drove the knife into the next one. For the third, she mimicked the motion Aaron had used, slicing it clean in two.

That action unleashed something in her, something related to that man in the woods, the one who had raped her and gotten her pregnant. She had just pushed it down, not having time to think about it or deal with it since. But now, the rage and the fear came rushing up, and she lashed out at the next walker head. She threw the knife on the ground and lifted her right foot, bringing it down as hard as she possibly could on the forehead. It cracked and blood seeped out. She stomped again. Bone fragments protruded through the decaying skin. She stepped closer and jumped, landing with both heels on its head. She felt the brain squish under her soles.

She kept kicking and stomping and started screaming, “Damn you, you worthless piece of shit! How could you do that?!? Mother fucker!”She gave one more hard kick then collapsed onto the ground.

Rick came running, but Sasha held a hand out, holding him off. She sat next to Riley on the ground and put a hand on her back. Aaron sat on her other side, and put an arm around her shoulders. He knew more about what had happened than anyone else, from all the time he’d spent with Riley when she was still recovering. She pulled her knees up and rested her forehead on them, crying until she had no more tears.

Then she stood and picked the knife back up and made quick work of the rest of the row of walker heads.

“I think that’s your knife, Riley,” Daryl said.

Rick walked up to her. “We need to get you some way to carry it. I’ll take care of that.” He leaned closer and whispered, “You OK, Riles?”

“I will be,” she said, determined. “I damn sure will be.”


	26. Friends

Over the next couple of days, Aaron and Riley trained hard. They fought each other. (“You’re gonna have to kill girl walkers,” Daryl had told Aaron when he objected to fighting against Riley.) They had run drills where walker heads had been strung up in trees and set to swing at them. None of the heads was still biting, but Riley still made sure to drive her knife in before the head touched her. Then they teamed up and fought Daryl and Sasha, with Abraham watching over them to make sure no one got seriously hurt.

When he finally determined that they had sufficiently evaded their attackers, Riley collapsed on the ground. “Just leave me,” she said. “I can sleep here.”

Abraham came over, grabbed her hand, and easily pulled her up and sat her on her feet. “No ma’am. Rick would bury me like a corn-studded turd in the middle of the woods.”

“Ugh,” she groaned. “Not today, Abraham.” Every part of her hurt.

“Daryl,” she said, picking up on a running joke around their community. “Were you a personal trainer before all this?”

He just raised an eyebrow. Well, maybe he raised both of them. Riley could only see one of his eyes. His hair was covering the other one.

Aaron looked pretty tired, too. “If you can make it to our place, Eric has offered to make us dinner. And I bet he’d give you a back rub. He’s really great at that.”

“Oh, sold! I just have to tell Rick.”

“I’ve got you, Wily Riley,” Abraham said, pulling the radio from his belt. He pressed a button and spoke into it. “Officer Friendly, this is Ginger Beef. Do you read me? Over?”

“Read you Ginger, go ahead. Over.” Riley could hear Rick’s voice through the walkie.

“Friendly, your woman will be dining with the rest of the hippie do gooder squad. She and Aaron are looking a might bit worse for wear so I will stop by and escort her home later tonight. Over.”

“Copy that, Ginger. Much obliged. Over.”

“10-4 good buddy. Over and out.”

Daryl came over and offered Riley a ride on his back. “Oh no,” she said. “You stay away from me, Dixon!”

She and Aaron leaned on each other and made it to his and Eric’s house. She collapsed in a chair while Aaron went over to give Eric a hello kiss. Eric walked over to her and knelt in front of her. “Riley, you OK?”

“Yeah, I just hurt. Everywhere.”

“Hold on a sec.”

He came back with a glass of tea and some pills. “These should help. And take a nap if you need to. Dinner is in the oven, but it will be a while. We’ll wake you when it’s ready.”

“Thank you, Eric. You’re the absolute best.”

She washed down the pills, sank down in the chair, and was out as soon as her eyes closed.

“Riley – Riley, wake up. Hey, sleepyhead, dinner time.”

She opened her eyes and smiled at Eric. “Thanks.”

They sat down to a dinner of tuna noodle casserole with more iced mint tea. Eric had even put a bit of honey in hers. Eric kept up a lively stream of commentary about the food, the good reports he’d heard about Aaron and Riley’s training, and the ongoing efforts of one of their neighbors to obtain a pasta machine. Riley got a second wind once she had some food in her. Aaron started to perk up, too, once they finished their meal.

“We’ll leave the dishes until later. Riley, I gave Aaron a back rub while you were napping. He said you could probably use one, too.”

“If you’re offering, I will definitely take you up on it.”

“Come with me.” He took her hand and led her back to the chair where she’d fallen asleep. He sat down, then indicated that she should sit on the floor in front of him.

He rubbed her shoulders and the upper part of her back, his fingers adept at finding the tense spots and releasing them. She closed her eyes and listened to him and Aaron talk about this and that, everything and nothing. After ten or fifteen minutes, she was completely relaxed and she sighed in satisfaction.

She just had her hair up in a simple ponytail, and he started running his fingers through it. She turned her head and smiled at him.

“Do you mind? I used to braid my sister’s hair. Guess it’s just habit.”

“I don’t mind at all. You can braid mine if you want.” She pulled the elastic tie from her hair. She could feel him section it and start twisting it into a French braid.

“So what’s going on with you and Rick?” he asked.

“I can only speak for myself. I’m crazy about him. Carl and Judith, too. I think he feels the same way about me, but maybe he just needs to feel alive. Maybe I’m just *there*, you know?”

Aaron came and sat on the floor across from her. “Riley, that’s not who Rick is. And I’m telling you – you didn’t know this, but I was in the infirmary that day you passed out. And I could see his face when Pete had that knife to your throat. He loves you, Riley. He does.”

She smiled at him, reached out and squeezed his hand.

“Could you guys help me with something?”

“More than likely,” Eric said.

“Tomorrow night is kind of a big deal for us.” She blushed but kept talking. “I’d like to find something nice to wear. Maybe a little makeup or perfume. I don’t know, just something to make it special.”

“You want to go on a run?” Aaron said.

“Yeah, I think I do.”

“We’ll do that, then.”

Just then there was a knock at the door. Aaron got up and answered it. It was Abraham.

He stepped inside. “I am here to see Riley safely home,” he said.

“Give me just a minute,” Eric said, finishing the end of her braid and wrapping the tie around it several times. “She’s all yours.”

Abraham offered her his hand and helped her up. She leaned down and hugged Eric. Aaron got a squeeze as she passed him on the way to the door.”I’ll come by in the morning,” he whispered.

“Good night, guys. Thanks for the dinner and everything.”


	27. Hearts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rick, Carl, and Judith have stolen Riley's heart.

“So what about me is wily, Abraham?”

“Sorry?”

“Earlier, you called me Wily Riley. Just curious as to why.”

“I suppose there’s two reasons. There’s the feminine wiles angle. If you turned them on, I suspect you could get a man to do damn near anything. But you’re a little squirrely, too. I can’t quite figure you out.”

“What do you want to know?”

“Let’s start with how you ended up in Alexandria.”

“I was part of a group, much smaller than this, 8 of us. I got separated from them when some guys raided our camp and stole our supplies. I’d been out in the woods on my own for about a week when Rick and Carl found me. I’d been trying to get in the trunk of a car to sleep. Rick frisked me, asked me some questions, then offered to bring me back here.”

“And it’s true you took down a walker with some metal thing you had in your hair?”

“Yes, that is true. It was instinct, pure and simple. Reflex. It was about to bite Rick.”

“Now what did you do before the world turned to this three-ring shit circus?”

“I was a lawyer.”

“Well, that would explain the wiliness, wouldn’t it? And I do believe you have now been safely escorted home.”

“Thanks, Abraham.”

“Anytime, Riley. Good night. To Rick and the kids, too.”

She went inside and found Rick giving Judith a bath in the kitchen sink. She walked over to him, slid an arm around his waist, and leaned her head on his shoulder. “Hey, babe.”

“Hey, Riles. You have a good dinner?”

“Yeah, and a good nap. Plus Eric gave me a back rub and braided my hair.”

He glanced at her out of the side of his eye. “A back rub, huh?”

She knocked her hip against his. “Want some help?”

“We’re pretty much finished, but if you want to dry this little one off and get her dressed, I’ll clean up in here.”

Riley got a towel while Rick pulled the stopper from the sink and let the water out. She wrapped the towel around Judith and carried her over to the couch where a diaper and pajamas were waiting. She rubbed the towel over the baby, softly singing the Gaelic lullaby her mother had sung to her. She continued to sing as she got Judith into her pjs, then cradled her against her chest, gently rocking and rubbing her back.

Rick came over and dropped onto the couch next to her. “You really have the touch with her, Riles. She’s already sound asleep.”

“I’ve always loved babies, but she’s definitely stolen my heart.” Riley dared a look at Rick. “You all have.”

Rick put his arm around her shoulders and kissed her on the temple, then kissed the top of Judith’s head. He held Riley there, pulled close against him.

“Rick, I don’t know what point we’re at in this relationship, what amount of information I need to give you about what I do everyday, but I wanted you to know I’m going on a run with Aaron tomorrow.”

He sat up straighter and looked at her. “Is anyone else going?”

“I don’t know. We just decided tonight. But he’s used to going out recruiting, right?”

“Yeah. I’d still feel better going with you. Or if you took Daryl or Abraham or Sasha. But I’m happy to go.”

“OK, we’ll take someone. We can figure it out in the morning.”

“And Riles?”

“Yeah?”

“You don’t owe me any information about your comin’s and goin’s. But I always want to know. I want you to be safe. I want you to be alive.” He gently laid his hands on either side of her face and kissed her, soft and slow. Riley was surprised to feel tears form in the corners of her eyes.

He pulled back, used each of his thumbs to wipe away the tears, then leaned in and whispered, “You’ve stolen all our hearts, too.”

He kissed her again, cupping one hand around the back of her head. She kissed him back, still holding sleeping Judith snug against her.

“Darlin’, you look exhausted. Let’s get to bed.”

He stood up and held him arms out for her to hand Judith to him.

“No, let me.” She looked up at him. “I mean, if you don’t mind.”

“I don’t mind at all, Riley. Not at all.”


	28. Run

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Riley, Aaron, and Abraham find an intact superstore on their run.

Riley was up early the next morning. She was setting the table for breakfast when Rick came downstairs. He walked over to her, put his hands on her waist and hooked his thumbs through two of her belt loops, and kissed her. “Good mornin’, Riles.”

She wrapped her arms around his neck. “Morning, Rick. You sleep as good as I did?”

“I slept great. Listen, I want to talk to you about this run.”

“OK.”

“I really want to go with you. But we’ve got to think about the kids.”

She looked at him, not really understanding.

“If we both go on a run, we could take Carl with us. But not Judith. If something happened, she’d lose us both.” He didn’t look away when he said that, just kept looking right into her eyes. She felt both a thrill of exhilaration at the implication of what he was saying along with a stomach drop of dread at the idea of losing him.

“So I’m going to stay here. I want you to take either Daryl or Abraham, OK?”

“OK.”

“Why don’t you go ahead and eat and get going? You don’t want to waste daylight.”

“I will.”

She ate a bowl of cereal with soy milk and a canned pear half. She picked up her backpack, put a couple of bottles of water in it, and walked back over to Rick. “I’ll see you tonight,” she said, leaning in to kiss him on the cheek. But he put his hand on her face and stopped her, then kissed her long and slow and deep in a way that made her not want to go anywhere.

“Take care of yourself out there, Riles.”

She picked up her knife and went out the front door, heading over to Aaron and Eric’s.

She arrived to them having a very similar conversation to the one she’d had with Rick, about taking someone with them.

“I promised Rick we’d take Daryl or Abraham.”

“Abraham is more likely to be home right now. Let’s try him.”

Aaron grabbed his own backpack and they headed toward Abraham’s house.

He was all in for the run, and soon they were at the gate, piling into a huge SUV.

They headed west, toward a small town just a few miles down the road. “They have one of those big stores that sells everything. It's been overrun the last few times anyone has come out here, but we should start there.”

When they got there, a few walkers were roaming the parking lot. The doors looked intact. “We might have just hit the mother-fucking mother load where the mother in question is a stone MILF,” Abraham declared. They backed the car up to the door and got out, weapons poised.

None of the doors would budge.

“We could shoot one out, but the noise is going to draw every one of those walkers, and give them a port of entry,” Aaron observed.

They stood there for several minutes. “Hey, let’s drive around back,” Riley said.

They did, and found a loading dock. One of the ports had a truck backed up to it.

“If we can get that truck started and pull it away from the dock, we can get in through that opening and then close the door behind us,” Riley said.

The plan worked, and they were soon inside, holding formation in case there were any walkers inside the store.

“Let’s clear the place, then make a plan,” Abraham suggested. “We’ll have to come back, because this place can keep us fed and in medicine for a good long while. But we might as well get as much back today as possible.”

They went aisle by aisle, picking off the few walkers they came across. They appeared to have mostly been employees, maybe a few customers. Riley said, “Hey guys, come over here.” She took them to the aisle that had large plastic tubs. “These will help us get stuff back.”

“Let’s split up,” Abraham said. “I’ll get as much food as I can. Aaron, you raid the pharmacy. Riley, you cover clothes, wide variety of sizes.”

“How many of these do you think we can get in the car?”

Abraham paused. “We can probably get 6 in the back, 4 on the back seat if we stack them, and we might be able to move the seats far enough forward to get 2 in the floor. Aaron, you OK to drive?”

“Sure.”

“Riley, you mind sitting on my lap?”

“Nope.”

“All right. That’s 12 of these tubs. Medicine won’t take as much space. Let’s do 2 of those, 5 each for clothes and food. Aaron, go help Riley once you’re done in the pharmacy. I’ll load the food then come find you.”

Abraham headed toward the grocery side of the store. Riley put her hand on Aaron’s arm. “Hey, hold up a second, would you?”

“Sure, what’s up?”

“Could you grab some condoms?”

“Oh, yeah, good call. I’ll try to grab them all.”

“OK, but could I have some of them?”

“Oh, right, your special night. Of course. You want me to look for anything else?”

“No, I’ll do it if we have time.”

Riley went over to the clothing section, dragging the stacked tubs behind her, the lids tucked under her other arm. She started by roaming the racks, filling her arms with piles of clothes in all kinds of both men’s and women’s sizes. Then she hit the kids’ section, trying to gauge what sizes the few children in Alexandria would need. Finally, she went to the baby area and picked out some things for Judith. She put clothes in the pile with everything else, but also stuck a few toys and a copy of the book “I’ll Love You Forever” in her backpack.

She carried the pile of clothes back then sat on the floor and started rolling everything as tight as she could, packing it into the tubs.

Aaron joined her when she was almost done filling the second tub. He handed her a box of condoms that she stashed in her backpack. She filled another tub-and-a-half while he did one. It was obvious they were going to have some room left over, so Riley said, “Let’s use the rest of the space on socks and underwear. You want to keep packing, or go grab some unmentionables?”

“For the sake of the ladies of Alexandria, I’ll let you do that,” Aaron chuckled.

Riley slid her backpack on and got up and went over to where the socks and underwear were hanging. She grabbed as many packs as she could hold and carried them back, dumping them into the half-full tub. She went back to get some more and stopped to look at some of the prettier things hanging separately. She found a matching set of bra and undies, black and lacy, that she guessed was close enough to her size. She slid her backpack off, pulled the items off their little hanger, and stuffed them into one of the outer pockets. Just then, Abraham came around the corner. She jumped, startled. 

“Everything OK, Wily Riley?”

“Yeah, everything’s just fine.”

“I have all the food and medicine loaded. Going to start on the clothes now. We’ll be able to get back well before dark.”

“Great!”

“So last call for any personal items you might want to grab. I’ve already done my personal looting. So don’t be shy. Just be quick.”

“Thanks, Abraham. I will.”

She walked over to where she had noticed a rack of sundresses. She sorted through them, holding up a few sizes to try to figure out which one to grab. Next she hurried over to the shoe section and quickly picked a pair of sandals. Finally she dashed over to the beauty area and grabbed some lavender-scented lotion, a sparkly barrette, a tube of mascara, and some tinted lip gloss.

“We’re ready to move out, Riley,” Aaron’s voice carried through the store.

“Coming, guys!”

She headed to the back of the store, and on the way she noticed a bag of Carl’s favorite candy bars, which she grabbed as she hurried to reach the SUV. She took her backpack off, climbed onto Abraham’s lap, and they started their journey home.


	29. Date

“Riley, you must be our lucky charm. This run has gone remarkably well,” Aaron said as they pulled into the gate at Alexandria. He jumped out and talked to Sasha who was on watch. Riley opened the door and climbed off of Abraham’s lap and out of the truck. Sasha came over and gave her a huge hug. “Your first run! And Abraham says you found all kinds of supplies.”

“We did, and there’s still tons more there.”

Abraham and Aaron came around the truck. “Sasha and Abraham are going to take care of the supplies. Rick left word for you to come over to my house and he will pick you up there.”

“Huh. Well, OK, can I freshen up a bit at your place?”

“Of course.”

Riley followed Aaron home. They told Eric about the run and the untouched super store. Eventually, Riley carried her knife and backpack into the bathroom. She undressed, did a quick clean up, and put the lotion on her legs, shoulders and arms before dressing in the fancy underwear and the sundress. She slid the sandals on, used the mascara and lip gloss, and twisted her hair up and clipped it with the sparkly barrette.

She tucked her jeans and t-shirt into the pack and balled up her socks and stuck them in one boot, the bra and undies she’d taken off went into the other. She grabbed all of it and put the boots and backpack by the door, keeping the knife in her hand.

Aaron smiled at her. “You are absolutely lovely, Riley.”

She blushed and thanked him.

They talked some more about the best way to get the rest of the supplies back until there was a knock at the door. Aaron answered it. “Riley, it’s for you.”

She walked to the door. Rick was standing there, holding a bouquet of wild flowers. His eyes went wide when he saw her. He stared for a moment, then said, “Riley, you look beautiful. And I’d like to ask you for a date this evening, to have dinner and see a movie.” His eyes sparkled with laughter and mischief as he held out the bouquet of flowers.

She took his gift and said, “of course.”

He took her knife from her hand and slid it into his belt, put her backpack on his back, and grabbed her boots with his left hand. His right hand held hers as they walked back toward home.

Riley was blown away by what he had done. Something that smelled delicious was cooking in the oven. The table was set with a candle and even a bottle of wine. A DVD case was next to her plate – Hope Floats, a movie she remembered from before.

He set her stuff inside the door and took off his gunbelt and put it there, too. As he pulled out her chair, he said, “The kids are staying with Carol tonight.”

He served the food and poured them each a glass of wine. He held up his glass and said, “To living.”

She clinked her glass with his and said, “I’ll drink to that.”

She told him about the run while they ate. He poured them each another glass of wine which they carried over to the sofa. He got the movie started in the TV which Riley had honestly never even noticed hanging on the wall. After a few minutes, he made a big production of stretching then putting his arm around her. She laughed and snuggled close, resting her arm on his thigh.

When the scene came in the movie where Harry Connick Jr. and Sandra Bullock slow dance to a country version of “To Make You Feel My Love,” Rick stood and held out his hand. “Shall we?” he asked.

Riley took his hand and let him pull her close, slow dancing in the living room. After a bit of swaying in time to the song, he whispered in her ear, “Riley, may I kiss you?”

“Please do,” she responded. And he did. She hoped that there would never come a time when his lips on hers stopped making her stomach drop and her nerve endings hum. She slid her fingers into the curls on the back of his head and said, “Don’t ever cut your hair any shorter than this. I’d miss these curls too much.”

“Oh yeah?” he chuckled. “Who knew lack of access to haircuts would help me with the ladies?” He reached up and unclasped the barrette that held her hair up, letting it tumble down around her shoulders. “I won’t cut mine if you don’t cut yours,” he said.

“Deal,” she said, kissing him again, seeking out his tongue with hers. The kiss deepened, and Riley pressed herself as close against him as she could.

“Let’s go upstairs,” he whispered in her ear.

“Let’s,” she agreed. “Oh, but we’ll want to take my backpack.”


	30. Joined

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The wait is finally over - enough time has passed that there are no restrictions on Rick and Riley's activities in the bedroom, and they take advantage of that fact.

Rick grabbed Riley’s backpack, threw it over his shoulder, then took her hand and led her upstairs.

When they got to the bedroom, he unzipped the pack and said, “So what’s in here that we’re going to need?”

He pulled several items out of the bag and put them on the bed. The condoms were there, but also the candy bars for Carl and the toys for Judith. He picked those up and sat down on the side of the bed, staring at them. He finally looked up at her and said, “I love you, Riley.”

She walked toward him, took the gifts out of his hands and set them on the bedside table, and wrapped her arms around his neck. He put his around her waist.

She waited until he looked up at her. “I love you, too, Rick.”

He stood up and kissed her, one hand still at her waist, the other resting on the side of her face.

When he pulled back, she smiled at him and said, “I got something for you, too.”

He motioned at the box of Trojans. “Besides those?”

She reached up and unzipped her dress, sliding it off her shoulders and letting it drop to the floor.

“Yeah,” she said, smiling at the look on his face as he took in her new undergarments.

He pulled her close again, buried his hands in her hair, and kissed her deeper, hungrier than before.

She kissed him back, feeling for his shirt buttons and unfastening them, pulling the fabric off as much as she could. He untucked it and threw it on the floor. In short order, most of their clothes joined the shirt and dress on the floor, and they were lying on the bed, each only wearing their underwear.

Rick kissed Riley’s neck, easing soft moans of pleasure from her, then unfastened her bra and eased the fabric off, touching her with just the tiniest amount of pressure. Riley grasped the back of his head with one hand and rested the other on his lower back as he went to work on her left breast with his mouth, his hand on the right.

She felt herself get wet. She wanted him inside of her, now.

“I want you, Rick,” she whispered. “Please.”

He raised up and slid his boxers off, then carefully pulled her lacy underwear down and off her feet, retracing his path back upward with light kisses.

She reached out and grabbed the box of condoms, opened it, and handed one to him.

“Please,” she repeated.

He tore the wrapper open, slipped the latex over his erection, and positioned himself over Riley, nudging her knees farther apart.

He pushed inside her, and she cried out from the exquisiteness of it.

Sex can be so many things. It can be an animal act of desire. It can be an expression of love. It can be a way to connect, to feel alive.

For Riley, it was all those things, lying there beneath this man she had come to love in just a couple of short weeks.

She wrapped her legs around him, raising up to meet his thrusts. “Yes, Rick, yes,” she urged.

He pushed deeper and deeper, his eyes locked on hers. She grasped his ass in both hands, trying to stay as close and connected to him as possible. She waited for him to press fully inside then clenched the muscles of her pussy, hard, slowing his retreat and drawing a deep moan from his throat. “Damn does that feel good, Riley,” he said, speeding up the motion of his hips. He grabbed her ankles and propped them up on his shoulders, the angle allowing him to slide even deeper inside.

“Ohhhhhhhh…..” She couldn’t find words, just emitted a guttural sound of pleasure.

Just when she thought she couldn’t possibly stand it any longer, he slowed down, going almost still. She felt every millimeter of the path he traveled inside her, unable to keep quiet from the pure bliss of his huge, hard dick filling her so completely.

A few more slow, sure strokes had them both on the edge, and then began thrashing together, clinging to each other for dear life, until she couldn’t keep lying still. She reached out and grasped a handful of the sheets. He reached down and gave her clit a few firm, confident flicks, and she was gone. “Yes, Rick! Oh God yes!” Her eyes, locked on his, went incredibly wide as she came. She was still spasming when she felt him relax inside her, repeating her name over and over like a chant, like a prayer.

He lay there for a moment, holding her, before getting up and heading to the bathroom to safely dispose of the condom. He came back and crawled back into bed next to her, wrapping her in his arms. She laid her head on his chest.

“I meant what I said, Riles,” he said, turning her head so he could look into her eyes. “I love you.”

“I meant it, too, Rick. You’re my heart.” She leaned in and kissed him, then settled back into the nook in his arm.


	31. Careful

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rick joins the run to bring back more supplies from the superstore, leaving Riley behind with Judith. She and Maggie wait together for the group to return.

Riley bounced Judith on her hip as Rick addressed the group assembled in Father Gabriel’s church. “You may have heard that Abraham, Aaron, and Riley were able to get into the big store out a bit west yesterday, and it was completely intact and full of supplies. It had been overrun with walkers all around the perimeter before, but yesterday there were just a few. We’re organizing a big run, in a caravan, to go and try to get all the food back and whatever we can bring. We’ll make more runs as needed to try to get other things back, starting with essentials like clothes and hygiene items, then moving on to toys and books for the children and other things that make life nicer but aren’t essential.”

“We already got a good deal of food, medicine, and clothing back yesterday.” Abraham stood. “Aaron cleaned out the pharmacy, but there are still over the counter pills in there. There’s also a guns and ammo section.”

“We’ll want to clean that out for sure,” Daryl said.

“I suggest we take the 5 biggest vehicles we can find. 2 people to a vehicle. Abraham, Aaron, Daryl, Sasha, and I will each go in one. We’ll need volunteers to go with each of us.”

Tara, Carol, Glenn, Maggie, and Carl all volunteered to go. Glenn spoke up, “Maggie, I don’t want you to go. I think you should stay here.”

Rosita offered to ride with Abraham. It was decided that Carl would go with Rick, Aaron and Glenn would be together, Tara would back up Sasha, and Carol and Daryl would partner up.

As they were compiling lists and coordinating plans, Riley approached Sasha and Tara.

“If it works out, could you two maybe make another stop while you’re out? If it’s safe, that is.”

“What do you need, Riley?” Sasha looked concerned.

Riley pulled a folded page from the phone book from the pocket of her jeans and held it out to Sasha. “I was hoping you could see if this has anything left.”

It was a listing for Planned Parenthood.

“I know Aaron got condoms yesterday, and he probably got a good stash of birth control pills. But they might have more, plus IUDs. I don’t want to take any chances with getting pregnant, and I bet a lot of other women feel the same.”

“That’s good thinking, Riley. We’ll see what we can do,” Carol told her.

“I learned the hard way,” she said sadly.

Carol put a hand on her shoulder. “I know.”

Rick walked over just then and led Riley over to a little hallway. “Riles, I want you with us. I do. But I stand by what I said. One of us needs to stay here so Judith doesn’t lose both of us. I know you’ll take good care of her if I don’t make it back.”

“Please don’t say that, Rick. I just found you. I don’t want to lose you.”

“Believe me, I will move heaven and earth to get back here to you.”

“I love you, Rick Grimes.”

“I love you, Riley Dunn.”

They kissed, softly and tenderly, although Riley did add a little tongue right at the end, just to give him a little something extra to come back for – not just the kiss, but the promise of what would come later.

Carl walked over. “I know you were just on the run yesterday, Riley, but anything you want us to keep an eye out for?”

Rick stood on the side of her where she was holding Judith, his arm around her shoulders. She reached out with her other arm and wrapped it around Carl and pulled him into a side-hug.

“I have everything I need right here. Just bring your dad home safely, OK?”

“I will.”

“Oh, and some of those chocolate peanut candy bars would be nice, too.” She winked at him.

Rick kissed her and Judith each on the head then headed off to start the run.

Maggie walked over and invited Riley to bring Judith over and hang out at her place for the day.

“Sounds great,” Riley said.

“Yeah, it’s always nicer worrying if you have someone to do it with,” Maggie added with a grin.


	32. Wait

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maggie and Riley get to know each other better while they wait for the group to come back from the run.

Riley and Maggie stopped by and picked up a few things for Judith, including her pack-and-play, then settled in at Maggie and Glenn’s house to wait for the caravan to come back from the run.

They let Judith play on the floor while they worked on lunch. Maggie had a couple of cans of tomatoes, and they went to work making sauce that they would eat on pasta after it had time to simmer.

Once the pot was bubbling away on the stove, Maggie poured them some iced tea and they settled in on the sofa.

“So how long have you and Glenn been married?” Riley asked. “Sorry to just jump in, but we have some time to fill.” She smiled.

“It’s hard to keep track. We don’t have an actual anniversary. He asked me to marry him when we were still living at the prison, and sometime after that we just started referring to each other as husband and wife.”

“So Glenn was at the prison, too?”

“Yeah, hasn’t Rick told you about all that?”

“He honestly hasn’t told me much at all about his life before I met him – before or after the outbreak.”

“Well, I met Rick when he and his family and the rest of their group back then came to my family’s farm. Carl had been shot, accidentally, by a friend of my family. He brought Rick and Carl back to the farm because my dad was a veterinarian, and he knew how to help. Carl got through, obviously. We all lived there for a while, but the farm was overrun with walkers. That was when Rick’s wife was pregnant. We spent most of that winter on the road, but when it was time for the baby to come, we found a prison. We cleared it and started living in it.”

“Wow. You guys have been through a lot.”

“That doesn’t even scratch the surface. The only people left from those days are Rick, Carl, Judith, Sasha, Glenn, Daryl, Carol and me. We lost people before then, while we were there, and since.” Maggie’s voice dropped, and her gaze shifted off to the distance. “I lost my stepmom and stepbrother in the outbreak. I lost my dad at the prison, and my sister after.”

“Oh, Maggie. I’m so sorry.”

“Thanks, Riley. I mostly just try not to think about it, you know. There hasn’t really been time to grieve. I think it’s catching up to me now that I’m here. But I’m lucky to still have Glenn.”

“I would have thought you two had been married for years, except that you don’t look old enough to have been married for years.” Riley smiled at her.

“Time passes differently now, doesn’t it?”

“It sure does.”

“So tell me about your family, Riley. Did you lose them, too?”

“Probably, but I don’t know for sure. My mom and dad and my boyfriend, Brad, were all still back in Illinois. I hope they made it, but there’s no way to know. I’ve had to accept that I’ll probably never see them again, whatever happened. But I’m lucky, too. I found Rick. Or I guess he found me.” She laughed a bit.

“Let’s check on that sauce,” Maggie said, standing up from the couch.

They ate lunch, played with Judith, and both drifted off while the baby took her afternoon nap.

When they woke up, Riley was a little surprised that the group wasn’t back from the run yet, but she told herself it was far too early to worry. She and Maggie started planning supper, making enough to feed at least some of the group when they got back.

But dinner came and went and still no word. They chatted more about their lives before the outbreak, the things they’d been through since then, and the challenges of adjusting to life in Alexandria after living on the outside.

“Can I ask you something personal, about Rick?”

“Sure. I won’t answer if I think I shouldn’t, but you can ask.”

“Well, he told me about his wife dying in childbirth while you were all at the prison. And he said you were there. I guess I’m just wondering what happened, what that was like for him and for Carl.”

“I think he should tell you the specifics, when he’s ready. But it was awful, Riley. We were worried he wasn’t going to come back to us for a while there. But he pulled through, for Carl and for Judith. For all of us, really. We’ve all lost people, and we’re all each other’s family, now. You, too. Forever.”

It was getting late. Maggie suggested that Riley stay in one of the spare rooms for the night. They carried Judith in her makeshift crib up to the room, and Riley got into bed. She had trouble falling asleep without Rick next to her, but eventually she fell into a troubled sleep. She tossed and turned, though, waking up frequently to try to listen for any signs that Glenn or any of the others had come back.


	33. Shhhh

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Riley welcomes Rick home from the run.

A footfall on the floor in the room where she was sleeping roused Riley from her troubled sort-of sleep and in one motion she was on her feet, knife in hand, eyes directed toward the source of the sound, waiting to be able to see in the dark.

"Riles? Riles, it's me."

She dropped the knife and rushed toward him. "Rick!" she whispered, throwing her arms around him. "You're back!"

He held her close for a couple of minutes, then peered in at Judith asleep in her pack-and-play. He leaned down and kissed her head, then went and sat on the bed and started pulling off his boots. "Yeah, it took a lot longer than we thought, but we got all the food, guns, and ammo back. A lot of the clothes. Some stuff for the kids. I went home but no one was there, then I remembered Maggie invited you over here."

"You must be exhausted." She sat next to him and rubbed his shoulders. "Let's try to get some sleep."

He stood and pulled off his jeans and t-shirt, then they got in bed and curled together.

"How was your day?" he whispered.

"Good. I had a chance to talk to Maggie quite a bit. I really like her. She helped me not worry quite so much, too."

"Sorry about that, Riles."

"It's not your fault. It's just the nature of actually having something you're afraid of losing. I'd forgotten what that felt like."

She tightened her arms around him and pressed her face against his chest. He reached down and put his fingertips under her chin, lifting her face until their eyes met. "I love you, Riles," he said before gently touching his lips to hers.

"I love you, too, Rick. So much."

She kissed him this time, her hand finding its way to to those curls on the back of his neck without her even having to think about it. Even as his lips moved on hers and his tongue explored her mouth, he shifted so that he was lying on top of her. She kept running her fingers through his hair, wrapping her other arm around his back, holding him close.

"I missed you today," he whispered, before moving his head to kiss her neck.

"Me, too," she answered. She didn't even realize she was crying until he started kissing away her tears.

"Hey, we did take care of that extra stop you asked Tara and Sasha about."

"Oh, yeah, sorry about that."

"No, no, it was good thinking. And I may have a couple of things from there with me."

She responded to this information by pulling her t-shirt over her head. She wrapped her arms around him again, savoring the feeling of his skin on hers. 

Mouths merged. Tongues twined. Hands sought. Clothes dropped.

Protection in place, Rick eased inside her. 

"That feels amazing, Rick."

"Feels like coming home," he said.

She pressed her knees against the sides of his hips. He grasped her hand in his.

His movements were slow and deliberate this time. Riley found his rhythm and started moving her hips in time with his, their gazes locked, their eyes communicating everything they needed to say to each other.

Rick had his weight on his left arm, bent and pressed against the bed. Riley released her grasp on his hand, wrapped her arms around his neck, and lifted herself up to cling to him. Her mouth next to his ear, she softly urged him on. "Yes, Rick. Yes. That feels so good. Oh, God. Yes." And it did feel so good, so right.

"It does, Riles. You feel amazing." He put his right hand on the small of her back, holding her still as he thrust even deeper than he had been before. His dick, hard and huge, hit just the right spot, and she moaned, deep and primal. "Shhh," he hushed her, covering her mouth with his as he held himself in just the right position to keep hitting that spot that drove her wild. She stayed quiet but moved her hands down to his ass, clutching at his flesh and rising to meet his thrusts. He pulled back and locked his eyes on hers again. She watched his face change, the tender look in his eyes turning urgent, ravenous. "Riles, Riles," he chanted in time with the rocking of his hips until his whole body tensed on top of her then went slack. He continued to spasm inside of her as he brought his hand down to nudge her over that last remaining edge into ecstasy, sealing his mouth over hers and filling it with his tongue to keep her from crying out.

They lay there, clinging to each other, for several minutes, trying to catch their breath. Finally Rick got up, poked his head into the hall, and made a quick trip to the bathroom.

When he got back, he grabbed his boxers and Riley's t-shirt off the floor, pulling the shorts on and tossing the shirt to her.

As she pulled the cloth over her head, he sat down next to her. The look on his face was not the typical expression of satisfaction and relaxation she'd come to expect after a passionate interlude. She scooted over to him and put her arms around his neck.

"Rick, what's wrong?"

"Since I guess we won't be getting any more sleep tonight, I guess I'll go ahead and tell you. We have a problem."


	34. Herd

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Riley learns why the superstore was suddenly almost clear of walkers and Rick brings up a shocking topic.

"What kind of problem?"

"Walkers."

"A lot?"

"A herd."

"Like the one we saw on the way back to Alexandria?"

His eyes clouded over. 

"Worse?"

"Much, much worse."

"Damn."

"They're all trapped in a quarry right now, but the makeshift barriers holding them in aren't going to stay up forever". We're going to have to figure out what to do about them."

"What does that have to do with the superstore?"

"The quarry isn't too far from there. We actually found it because of you."

"Because of me?"

"Yeah, we came back a different direction because of that extra stop. That's when we saw them. They're making so much noise, I think they drew most of the walkers that were at the store. So the herd just keeps growing."

"Well, I guess it's better to know, right? So we can prepare."

"Absolutely. We're going to get a meeting together tomorrow. We need a plan, and we're going to need volunteers."

Judith started whimpering in her pack-and-play. Riley hopped up and went and got her, cradling her against her chest and gently bouncing her. The baby sighed, dropped her head, and went back to sleep.

Riley looked up at Rick. He was watching her with an expression that was unfamiliar to her.

"What is it, babe?"

"You just look so natural with her."

"I guess maternal instincts can kick in whether a baby is actually yours or not." She smiled at him.

"And that's not something you'd even think about?"

"Think about what?"

"Having one of your own."


	35. Share

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rick and Riley open up about some issues from their pasts.

"A baby of my own?"

"Yeah."

"Wow, I haven't really thought about it."

"Well Riles, that's not exactly true. You've thought about it enough to ask Tara and Sasha to bring you back some kind of metal thing that would keep you from getting pregnant for several years, right?"

"Yeah. I was just trying to be careful, Rick. This way we wouldn't have to constantly be scavenging for pills or rubbers."

"But you felt OK talkin' to Tara and Sasha about this, but not me?"

"I'm sorry, Rick. It didn't occur to me that you'd want to have another baby."

"I just want you to talk to me about these things."

"OK," she said, her voice getting a little softer. "I guess I need to tell you something, then."

He looked at her, his eyes clouding over with worry. "What is it, Riles?"

"I mentioned my boyfriend back in Illinois, right?"

"Yeah."

"His name was Brad. Is Brad. Was, is, I don't know. Anyway, we had been together for almost five years. Right after I moved to D.C., I found out I was pregnant. I had a plane ticket to go home to visit. I wanted to tell him in person. I figured he'd propose, or at least want to move in together, be in the same city again. But then everything happened. They closed the airports before I could get back. I lost that baby, too, Rick. Maybe I won't be able to have a baby. But I sure don't want to lose another one."

He moved close to her on the bed, kissed the side of her face, then took Judith from her. He held the little girl close and was quiet for several minutes. When he finally started talking, he kept his eyes focused on the baby.

"I'm pretty sure Judith isn't my blood, Riles. I was in a coma when the outbreak started. My partner, my best friend, man by the name o' Shane, he got Lori and Carl out of town, headed for Atlanta, but it was overrun. They ended up in a camp. Glenn, Carol, and Daryl were there, too. They both thought I was dead, and, well, they took up with each other. I believe it stopped once I found Lori and Carl. But the way the timeline turned out, she's probably Shane's child. She's my daughter, and I love her every bit as much as I love Carl. But I know she's his blood, not mine."

Riley scooted to sit behind him and wrap her arms around him.

"I guess because of all that, Lori was afraid to tell me she was pregnant. She sent Glenn on a run for a pregnancy test, then back for mornin' after pills to try to get rid of the baby. I found the box in our tent. That's how I learned she was expectin'. I already knew what had gone on between the two of them, but she finally told me, then. She had thrown up the pills, and obviously Judith made it."

He leaned back against her, cradled Judith in one arm and rested his other arm on top of Riley's, still secure around his chest.

"I just don't want anymore secrets, Riles. I ended up havin' to kill Shane. He was stuck on this idea that he loved Lori, that the two of them should be together and raise Carl and the baby. He lured me out into the woods outside Maggie's father's farm, plannin' to put a bullet in my back."

"Oh, God, Rick. I am so sorry."

"Me, too, Riles."

"I really wasn't trying to keep anything a secret, Rick. Everything happened so fast with finding that store and then the listing in the phone book, and I didn't want to announce it to the whole meeting. But you're right, I should have talked to you. And I promise I will, from now on." She gave him a squeeze. "I love you."

"I love you, too, Riles. And it's OK if you don't want to have a baby. I just want to be part of the conversation."

"I never said I didn't want to have a baby, Rick. But first, we've got to figure out what to do about those walkers."


	36. Siege

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Alexandrians have to decide how to deal with the massive herd of walkers nearby.

"Riley, Riley!" Daryl snapped his fingers in front of her face. "Riley!" He shouted this time.

"Yeah, sorry. I just don't know what to say. I feel like it's one of those 'guess how many jelly beans are in this jar' games, and I never was any good at those. But I do know that's a shit ton of jelly beans!"

"Those ain't no jelly beans, girl."

"Well, yeah, there's that."

"How am I supposed to get a picture of all this?" Aaron asked. 

They had gone to grab the last load of supplies - plus some special requests - and had been charged with getting some pictures of the walker herd so people would understand what they were dealing with when they met to formulate a plan. "Herd" didn't even come close to describing what they were looking at, though. The sheer sea of walkers reminded Riley of the crowd that would stream out of Busch Stadium after the Cardinals played baseball. That thought made her miss her dad, though, so she pushed it aside.

"Pick a fixed spot on the horizon and take two pictures, one on each side," she suggested to Aaron.

He snapped the pictures then said, "Let's get out of here."

.................

Riley couldn't help laughing when she walked into Father Gabriel's church the next day. "What's so funny?" Carl asked her.

"That overhead projector. I never thought I'd see one of those again!"

Carl held Judith up so her face was level with his. "Growns ups are weird, Judith!"

Once the church was mostly full, Deanna started the meeting by calling Tobin to the front. "Tobin is the head of our construction crew. I'm going to let him explain what's going on." 

Tobin nodded to Aaron who turned on the projector. The pictures he'd taken filled the front wall of the church. Magnified like that, they got the point across. Gasps and murmurs rippled through the room.

"These walkers are not far from here. They are trapped by three semi trucks right now. One of them is on the ledge of the quarry. It could fall any day. Once it does, the walkers will be freed, and they will be on a path headed straight for Alexandria. We don't have the luxury of ignoring this. We have to make a plan. Rick has one idea of how to handle it, and Carter has an alternate view. We're going to hear from each of them and then decide how to proceed."

Rick walked up to the front of the room. "We can't just wait and see what's going to happen, friends. We have to get ahead of this. I propose that we move one of the lower trucks that's holding the walkers in, attract them with flares, and then send someone in a vehicle to lead them away from Alexandria. We'd want to lead them at least 20 miles out, then get far enough ahead to turn and lose them before heading back home. There is some risk, of course, but we have to keep them away from here. We'd have a second team ready to lead the back half of the herd if it doesn't follow the front half. We'd take them 20 miles in the opposite direction, and also lose them then turn back."

Carter stepped forward. "I think this plan is insane. We can build up the weak spots in the wall so we can withstand the attack."

Sasha stood up, walked to the front of the church, and spread her arms to indicate the walkers in the picture. "No wall is going to stand up to this," she said. 

Daryl added, "Those walkers will be in here inside of an hour if they get out. They'll tear that wall right down. We gotta get them away from here."

There was a little more discussion, but eventually it was agreed that they would follow Rick's plan. Daryl, Sasha and Abraham would be the first team to lead the walkers away. Rick, Heath, and Glenn would be the second team.

They decided to go right away. The teams gathered and Riley heard Rick say, "We head out in 15. Do what you need to do."

He walked over to Carl who was playing with Judith, keeping her occupied and distracted. He crouched down and hugged each of them. "I love you, son. You take care of Riley and Judith while I'm gone." Riley heard the hitch in his voice but tried not to let it show on her face.

He stood up, grasped her hand, and said, "I can't say a proper goodbye to you here. Come with me."


	37. Be Seeing You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rick and Riley share a passionate goodbye before Rick heads out on the mission to divert the massive herd of walkers away from Alexandria.

"Where are we going?" Riley asked.

Rick said nothing, just pulled her along behind him as he headed through the small nursery at the back of the church and into the small bathroom. He shut and locked the door behind them.

He didn't speak then, either, just pulled Riley close and covered her mouth with his. She clung to his shoulders as they kissed, emotion overwhelming her - fear, desire, helplessness and love.

Rick pulled back, wiped a tear she hadn't even realized she was crying from under her eye. "What's wrong, Riles?"

"I don't want you to go. I know you have to, and I'm not asking you to stay. But I still don't want you to go." She put her hands on the sides of his face, fingertips brushing that stubble she found impossible to resist. Then she raised up on the balls of her feet, trying to get her face as level with his as she could, and looked right into his eyes. "I love you, Rick." Before he could say anything in return, she kissed him, soft and gentle at first. But then something ignited inside her. She grasped the back of his head with one hand, the other slid down until it rested on his lower back, just above the waistband of his jeans. She teased her tongue into his mouth and slid her hand down even farther.

He pushed her t-shirt up, unfastened her bra, and pushed it up, too, freeing her breasts. His hands found her flesh even as their mouths stayed merged.

Eventually he pulled away, looked her in the face, and said, "I love you, too, Riley. Damn, I wish we were at home right now."

She kissed his neck and rubbed her hands over his chest. "Why, what would you do if we were at home?"

Breathily he answered, "I'd lean you right over the couch or the kitchen counter, whatever was closest, and show you just how much I'm going to miss you."

Riley turned to face the little sink in the bathroom, and using her foot, pulled out the small step stool that was kept under it so the small children could wash their hands. She stepped up onto the stool, her back to Rick, and unfastened her jeans and belt.

She looked back over her shoulder at him. "We don't have to be home for that."

He pulled her jeans and undies down to her knees, then unfastened his own belt and lowered his jeans and boxers just enough. He pulled a condom from his pocket, slipped it on, then guided himself inside her.

Riley could see him watching he face in the mirror as he grasped her hips and began pounding into her, hard, fast, determined, sure.

"You like that, Riles?"

"God, yes," she moaned.

"Tell me what you like about it."

"You're so deep inside, so hard, so big, so, ohhhhhhhh" she bit her lip to keep from crying out in pleasure. She met his eyes in the mirror. "Do you like it?"

"Ab-so-lute-ly" he said, thrusting with each syllable. "I could stay inside you like this forever."

"God, I wish you could," she sighed, tensing her pussy around his dick as he pulled out, then relaxing to let him thrust hard inside her, repeating the cycle with each entering and withdrawing. 

"That's amazing when you do that, Riles," he gasped. "Everything about this is just so good."

"What's good, baby?"

"The way your tits bounce from the impact of my dick. How wet I make you. How big your eyes are when I push all the way inside." He held her hips tight and gave an especially deep thrust to illustrate his point.

"I love the feel of your balls swinging into my clit, the feel of your hands so strong on my hips, how hard you get when we fuck."

"God, Riley, I can't last much longer. You almost there, baby?"

"Yes," she breathed, "so close, so close."

He reached around with one hand, found the exact right spot, and flicked his second and third fingers.

"Rick, Rick, Rick..." she called, keeping her voice soft, as she came, hard, still watching him in the mirror, seeing his eyes roll ever so slightly back into his head as he reached his climax as well.

He wrapped his arms around her from behind, still inside her, and kissed the side of her face. "I don't want to go, either, Riley. I want to stay here with you. But I have to go, because of you, because of Carl, because of Judith. I have to keep my family safe."

She leaned back against him. "I know, and I love you for that, and for so many other reasons. Just please come home to me."

They disentangled from each other, dealt with the condom, and returned their clothes to their original state. They slipped out of the bathroom, out of the nursery, and out into the sanctuary where the teams were gathering. If anyone had noticed their absence, they didn't say anything about it. 

They went over a few last-minute logistics, then Rick again hugged and kissed Carl and Judith and told them goodbye. Then he held Riley close, gave her another deep, slow, passionate kiss, and said "Good...." but Riley covered his mouth, stopping him from finishing the word. 

"Be seeing you," she said, fighting the tears that she felt coming on again.

"Be seeing you, Riles," he answered, then headed off with the rest of the group.


	38. Cornered

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Riley, Carl, and Judith are under siege by walkers, and Riley is determined to keep her promise to Rick to keep his children safe.

Two whole days had come and gone, and the team that had headed out to divert the walkers had yet to return.

Maggie had been staying with Riley, helping take care of Judith and Carl, but Riley had finally convinced her to go get a few hours' sleep in her own bed. 

Riley carried Judith upstairs, checked in on Carl who was reading comics in his room, then curled up in bed with the baby. She knew that sleeping with a child so young wasn't necessarily safe, but the little girl had been fussy since her father had been gone. She hadn't been sleeping, which meant Riley hadn't been getting much rest, either. So she hoped that by holding her close, they'd both be able to hit a REM cycle or two.

Since she'd been asleep, she'd never really know how they'd gotten into the house. But the noise woke her just a few seconds before it roused Judith.

The hall outside the bedroom where she and Rick slept was jammed with walkers.

She quickly shut the door and put her back to it, trying to buy a few minutes to figure out what to do. Perhaps sensing her panic, Judith started whimpering. Riley desperately patted her back and gently bounced her up and down, but she just became more and more upset. 

She glanced at the window and knew what she had to do. She moved quietly over to the wall that separated their room from Carl's. 

*Knock, knock, knock*

"Carl, you hear me?"

"Yeah, I hear you, Riley."

"You see what's in the hall?"

"Yeah, what the hell?"

"I don't know. But we have to keep Judith safe. I need your help."

"OK, but I don't think I can get to you guys."

"I need you to crawl out your window onto the roof, and come over to my window and I'm going to hand you the baby."

Thank goodness, he didn't argue with her.

"Be right there."

She watched for his face to show up outside the glass. When it did, she walked over, flipped the latch, and slid the window open. Carl said, "back up!" then kicked out the screen. She passed Judith to him. The baby immediately began screaming. 

"Get as far away from the window as you can. I'm going to open the door, kill the first several that come through, and try to pile their bodies up to make a barricade. Then I'll crawl out the window, too. Someone is bound to come help."

She watched him scoot, still sitting, back over toward his window and beyond. He was singing quietly to Judith, and it seemed to be calming her at least somewhat.

Riley stood for a moment, thinking about that day on the way back to Alexandria, when Rick had held her close under the car while the walker herd had passed by. She wanted so desperately for him to be here, now. It was also tempting to just close her eyes, pretend she was back here, and surrender to whatever fate would befall her.

But she wanted to see Rick again. The thought of that was enough to make her dig deep and find the strength and courage she needed to face her fears. But even moreso, she had made him a promise that she would keep Judith and Carl safe. Even if it meant giving up her own life, she was going to honor that promise.

She took a deep breath, got a good grasp on her knife, and opened the door partway, just enough for one walker to squeeze through. She lunged with her knife, stabbing it right through the forehead, then grabbed it by the back of the neck and pulled it forward, toppling it onto the floor in the doorway. She waited for the next one to do the same, and repeated the process, this time slicing right through the top of its head. She had to grasp its neck to pull the knife back out, then pulled it on top of the first one she'd killed. Two more and the pile was getting high enough that the walkers couldn't easily reach her. She had to extend her grasp, get a grip on their arm, then pull them toward her before she could even stab them. Then it was just a matter of following through on their momentum to add them to the heap.

She stopped when she killed one that stayed on its feet, bent forward over the rest of the bodies after she sliced through its brain.

As quickly as possible, Riley joined Carl out on the roof of the house.

Walkers were everywhere. Not a thick herd, but enough that Riley knew there was no way she could kill enough of them for her to get the children to safety.

"Riley! Riley!"

She looked around and saw Eugene on the roof of the house next door. "Riley, you stay put for a few minutes. We're going to draw the walkers away so we can get you all down from there and make it to the armory. Then we'll figure out what to do."

"OK, Eugene. Thank you."

She scooted over next to Carl and Judith. She was about to pull the two of them close, but Carl beat her to it and put his arm around her shoulders.

"I promised my dad I wouldn't let anything happen to you, Riley. And I meant it."

"I promised the same thing. So I guess we're just going to have to get each other through this, huh?"

"We will," he said, meeting her eyes. "I'm not letting my dad lose you." His eyes clouded over just the slightest bit. "I'm not losing you." He hugged her, and she tightened her arms around him, kissing Judith on the head and then daring to give him a peck on the forehead, too. He smiled.

Just then, the bells at Father Gabriel's church started pealing. The walkers all stopped moving, their heads slowly turning toward the source of the sound. They all started moving in the direction of the church. After most of them had moved on, Aaron and Eugene appeared on the ground with a ladder. They leaned it against the house, Eugene holding it steady, and Aaron climbing halfway up. 

"Carl! Hand Judith down! I will give her to Eugene, then I'll hold the ladder for the two of you to climb down."

They did as Aaron said, and soon they were on the ground, Riley holding Judith on her left hip, her right hand poised and ready with her knife. Eugene handed Carl a semi-automatic rifle similar to the ones he and Aaron were holding. 

Carl took the lead, with Riley in the middle, Aaron and Eugene following behind and providing cover.

They made their way quickly to the armory, killing five walkers on the way, then holed up with the others who had taken cover there.

Carl walked over, held out his arms for Judith, and whispered to Riley. "We made it. Dad will be back, too." Then he kissed her on the cheek.


	39. "I did."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Several members of Alexandria hunker down in the armory to wait out the walker swarm.

It was 3:30 am. There was enough ambient light to see the clock hanging in the armory, but Riley didn't need to look at it. She knew it was 3:30.

She hadn't slept at all. She hadn't even felt her eyes droop. She wasn't even sure she had blinked. She sat with her knees bent, every muscle tensed, right hand gripping her raised knife, back against the wall.

Her eyes darted around the room, checking any point of entry, then landing on Carl, sound asleep on the floor next to her, protectively clutching Judith to his chest. 

She looked around at the rest of the people who'd been caught outside their homes - or chased out of them - by the influx of walkers. She still didn't know how they'd gotten inside the walls. They had all agreed to wait out the night and send a scout or two in the morning to see what was going on, how many walkers were still inside, and decide what to do next.

Her senses were on high alert. Hyper vigilance, her old therapist had called it. But it was serving her well - particularly when someone started turning the doorknob, trying to get in from outside.

She was on her feet in a split second, crouching, her knife up and ready. She crept up to the side of the door, quickly leaning over to look out the window, then ducking back out of sight. It took her brain a second to register that she'd been looking straight at Daryl.

"Riley, open the door!" he whispered.

She turned the lock and swung the door open, then moved out of the way when she saw that Daryl and Rick were leading Abraham between them. She didn't ask them any questions, just let them ease Abraham down into a chair. He opened his eyes, looked at her, said, "Wiley Riley!" then closed his eyes again, his head dropping over to rest on his left shoulder.

Rick was at her side in an instant, pulling her close with one arm and cupping the back of her head with his other hand. 

"What are you doing here, Riles?"

"Our house is overrun with walkers, Rick. I'm sorry. I don't know how they got into Alexandria, or how they got in the house. But I kept the kids safe. I told you I would, and I did. I did." She leaned her head against his chest and started to sob, repeating over and over, "I did. I did. I did."

He kissed her on the forehead. "Shh," he said, wrapping his arms tighter around her. "Shh, Riley, it's OK. We're OK."

Once she calmed down, she said, "what happened to Abraham?"

Daryl answered, "We got stuck in a building, surrounded by walkers. He jumped out a second story window to get in the truck and lead them away so we could get out. He jacked up his leg, but he'll be a'right. He's just gotta sleep off the painkillers we gave him, which he washed down with a bottle of Jack we found." He turned and looked Riley in the eye. "What d'you mean, your house is overrun with walkers?"

She sat down on the floor. "I was trying to take a nap with Judith. She hadn't been sleeping very well since you guys left. Carl was in his room, reading I think. All of a sudden, I could just hear them. That awful growl. It was so loud, because there were so many of them. I don't know how they got in the house, but there they were, in the hallway outside our bedrooms."

Rick knelt down next to her, putting a hand on her face. "How did you get out of there?"

"I got Carl to crawl out his window and come over to ours so I could hand Judith to him. Then I killed enough walkers to use their bodies to barricade the door and climbed out after them. Someone got the bells ringing at the church - that drew most of the walkers over that way. Aaron and Eugene came with a ladder and helped me and the kids get down, and we came here."

"Are they still with you?"

"Yeah, they're in there asleep," Riley said, gesturing toward the garage where the supplies were kept. "I'd say there's about 20 people in there. Did you guys get the herd diverted?"

"Most of it, yeah. But part of it split off in a direction we didn't count on, following a pack of wild dogs. I bet that's the group that ended up here. We'll have to figure out what's going on in the morning. But for tonight, I think we should just stay here."

"I got some shuteye in the car while Rick drove," Daryl told her. "I'll stay up and keep watch until sunup. You two try to get some sleep."

"A'right," Rick said. "But wake me at daybreak."

Riley went over to Daryl. "I know you're going to hate this, but I'm going to hug you, Daryl." And she did. "Thanks for keeping him safe," she whispered before letting go of him.

Riley grabbed Rick's hand and led him over to the spot on the floor where she'd been keeping watch. She put her knife away as he leaned down and kissed Judith on the head and smoothed the hair back out of Carl's eyes, pulling the blanket up over his sleeping children. Riley kissed each of them on the forehead then stretched out next to Rick. They wrapped their arms around each other, and Riley held Rick close, but she still couldn't sleep.


	40. Recon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Riley goes on a scouting expedition to see what's going on with the walkers that have infiltrated Alexandria's walls.

"Rick, be with the kids. I can go. Really. I've got this."

He sighed in resignation, and then pulled the gun from his holster, holding it out to her. "You remember how to shoot this?"

She pointed at the safety. "Push there. Cock it, raise to eye level. Aim. Shoot. Never point it at anything I don't want to hit, including my own foot."

He put his hand over hers. "And don't hesitate."

Riley leaned forward and kissed him - a real kiss, the kind she never would have given anyone in public before the world had changed. Now there was just too much else to worry about to concern herself about such things.

"Keep yourself safe out there," he said as she slid the gun into the waistband of her pants, tucking it into the small of her back.

He pulled her close one last time, cradling her head as he whispered, "Come home to me, Riles."

"Geez, would you come on, it's like some damn soap opera in here. Good Lord."

"Yeah, yeah, Dixon. I'm ready. Let's go."

Riley followed Daryl and Aaron out the door, falling into formation. There was no mass of walkers anywhere nearby. They saw a few, here and there, and picked them off as they went, taking turns to be the one to take the walkers down. The training had paid off - Riley didn't hesitate killing the creatures. In fact, she found that her most successful kill method was to let them get close enough to reach for her, then to grasp their forearm, pull them toward her, and put her knife through their temple.

They found a good deal of the herd still milling around the church, although some were losing interest and shuffling away. It still wasn't clear how they had gotten in. 

Daryl turned to them. "We'll need a bigger group - and a plan - to deal with all them. C'mon. I want to check one more thing before we go back."

Riley and Aaron followed him. It was quickly apparent that they were going to Rick and Riley's house.

"I guess that's why they swarmed your place," Aaron said as they approached and noticed that a panel of the wall directly behind the house was down, the support that had been holding it up now lying in pieces on the ground.

The picture window in the front of the house was completely broken out. "I guess that's how they got in," Aaron said. "That was pretty obvious, huh? But walkers didn't tear down the wall or break that window."

"No, that was someone living," Daryl agreed.

Riley stuck her head through the opening. She didn't see - or hear - any walkers.

She turned to the guys. "Nothing down here, it seems."

"You up for clearing it?"

She felt a flashback start but squeezed the handle of the knife, wiggled her toes inside her boots, and swallowed several times to ground herself in the present.

"Let's do it. Even if we can't move back in here, we're at least going to need to get the kids' stuff."

"A'right, let's go."

Riley opened the front door. They quickly cleared the downstairs, Aaron killing the only walker they found, standing in the laundry room, its path blocked by the washing machine.

Daryl took point going up the stairs, Riley and Aaron walking in tandem behind him.

They were almost to the top of the stairs when he held up a hand, signaling them to stop. He pointed back down the stairs. Riley and Aaron backed their way down the staircase with Daryl following. Once they were back on the first floor, Daryl moved in front of them, leading them back onto the front porch, where Aaron settled into a chair and Daryl and Riley perched on the railing.

"The upstairs is just packed with 'em. How many do you think you killed, Dunn?"

"10 or 15, I'd guess."

"Where are they?"

"In the doorway to Rick's and my bedroom. I piled up the bodies to make a barricade so they couldn't get to Judith. She was crying and that seemed to be drawing them."

"I'd say there's at least 50 of them still moving up there. We have to figure out how to get to the ones in the middle once we pick off the ones on the outside."

They all sat for a few minutes, thinking. Finally, Riley looked up and said, "I think I have an idea."


	41. Clear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rick and Company work to clear Alexandria of walkers.

"What's your idea, Riley?"

"Well, I think we need to worry about all those walkers over by the church first. But to deal with that crew upstairs, well, Rick brought a baby gate back from that superstore. We haven't started using it yet because Judith is barely crawling. But i know where it is."

"You think that's gonna hold back a bunch of walkers?"

"Well, if we put it at waist level it probably would. At least one at a time. I think we could make it work."

"A'right. But you're right - we need to deal with all those walkers by the church first. Let's get back."

They made their way back to the armory and found Rick, Carol, Glenn, Maggie and Tara sitting in a cluster around Abraham.

"What'd you guys find back there? Are we dealing with a shitstorm or a storm of shit?"

"Shitstorm over by the church, storm of shit at Rick and Riley's place."

"Storm of shit?" Rick asked.

"There's still about 50 walkers upstairs."

"Yeah, and someone let them in. Part of the wall behind your house is down, the support beam was sawed in pieces. And someone broke the whole picture window out in front."

Rick looked at Aaron. "Shit. Well, first thangs first. We've gotta get these walkers out of here."

"We need something to draw them." Tara pointed out.

Abraham's face brightened. "I have something that might do the trick. It's in a duffel bag back at my place."

"Me'n Glenn will go get it," Daryl offered.

They were gone and back within ten minutes. Daryl handed the bag to Abraham who opened it and produced a pile of firecrackers.

"A personal item I brought back from the superstore," he said with a smile. "I had plans for these, but I'll surrender them for the greater good."

Maggie offered, "We just need someone to get up in the watch tower before we set these off outside the gates. We'll wait for the herd to follow the sound and light from these fireworks, then we'll close the gate once they're out."

"A couple of us can go out through the sewer to set those off," Aaron added.

"I don't mean to slow y'alls roll, but wouldn't that work better after dark?"

"He has a point," Rick conceded.

"Might as well go deal with your place, then," Daryl said.

"We're gonna need as many of you with strong backs as are willing to help," Riley said.

Rick, Abraham, Daryl, Aaron, Glenn, Eugene, and Carl all stepped up.

They made their way back to the house, found the baby gate, and set it up at the top of the stairs, spanning the doorway at Rick's waist level.

Riley stood on the top stair, turned sideways, facing the upstairs hallway, knife raised. Daryl stood next to her and scratched the wall right inside the hallway. A couple of walkers apparently heard it and headed toward them. Riley waited until one reached the gate and reached forward, knifing it through the temple. Daryl turned his back to it. Riley grabbed its arms and pulled them forward, guiding the hands into Daryl's grasp. He started down the stairs, pulling the walker over the gate and up onto his back as he went.

They cleared the whole crowd of them that were still upstairs that way, the guys taking turns carrying the bodies downstairs and out through the open panel of the gate, piling them up outside. When all the moving walkers had been dispatched, Eugene, Abraham, Carl, and Glenn started teaming up and moving the bodies out, too, while Rick and Daryl repaired the support for the section of the wall that was down. Maggie, Tara, and Carol showed up and boarded up the broken-out picture window. Once the last walker was moved outside, they replaced the downed wall panel.

The sun was going down as they gathered around the table at Father Gabriel's to have dinner. Aaron, Glenn, and Daryl headed off to go through the sewer to get out past the walkers and get ready to set the firecrackers. Maggie and Eugene climbed the watchtower so they could scramble down and close the gate behind the herd.

Riley picked Judith up from the little play area Father Gabriel had set up for her while he'd been watching them. She turned to Rick. "I'm guessing this little one has never seen fireworks, huh?"

"No, she sure hasn't." He turned to Carl. "C'mon, son."

They walked out onto the porch. Carl asked to hold Judith so Riley handed her to him. "Cover her ears," she advised.

Rick walked over and put an arm around her waist, pulling her close. A few minutes went by and then the fireworks started. Rick kissed her on the top of the head as they stood and watched the sky light up with color.

"Sometimes even the worst days can have the most beautiful moments," she said, snuggling against him and smiling at Carl holding his baby sister.

"They sure can, Riles," he agreed.

 


	42. Diversion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Riley doesn't want Rick to know her PTSD is keeping her up at night, so she finds a way to divert his attention.

Riley sat up in bed, turning her knife around and in her hand, watching the baby monitor and listening closely for any sounds in the hallway.

She hadn't slept more than a few minutes at a time in the 2 weeks since the walkers had been let into Alexandria.

Rick reached out for her in his sleep. When he wasn't able to wrap his arm around her middle, he opened his eyes, sat up, and touched her knee.

"Riles? What are you doin'?"

She stretched out and turned toward him, discreetly letting her right arm dangle off the side of the bed and dropping the knife soundlessly onto the carpeted floor.

"Just watching you sleep. Didn't mean to wake you up, babe."

"It's a'right. But why aren't you sleeping?"

She thought about telling him the truth, but she didn't want to worry him. "Oh, I don't know," she said, laying a palm against his chest and kissing the side of his face. "Just having some thoughts that weren't exactly restful," she teased him.

"Is that so?" he said, the twinkle in his blue eyes apparent even in the dark room. "What kind of thoughts?"

"Thinking about doing this," she said, pressing against him as she touched her lips to his and tangled one hand in his curls while the other ran down his back, slowly, then eased inside his boxers to rest on the warm skin of his ass.

He bunched her shirt up around her shoulder blades and covered her breasts with his hands as he kissed her back, circling her tongue over and over with his.

She broke away long enough to pull her shirt over her head. He leaned up on one elbow, looking at her, slowly tracing his fingertips over the side of her face, down her neck, her shoulder, then tracing the swell of her breast before moving in ever smaller concentric circles until he got to her nipple. "Rick," she moaned, and he increased the pressure of his fingertips while his mouth found the spot on her neck that drove her absolutely wild.

Riley slid her hand back down, easing his erection out of his boxers and gently cradling him in her hand, squeezing ever so gently then letting up, teasing him with an appetizer of pleasure that would produce a craving for the main course rather than filling him up before they got there.

He moved his head down so his lips could take over for his fingers, alternating between drawing her nipple into his mouth and gently flicking it with his tongue. He didn't let up even as he grasped the waistband of his boxers and slid them down as far as he could. Riley used her feet to work them the rest of the way down his legs, grasping the fabric between her toes to ease them the rest of the way off and fling them onto the floor. 

"Make love to me, Rick," she whispered, her voice husky.

He slid her panties down and off with one fluid motion, then pulled her close, their bare flesh pressed against each other as he kissed her, the feel of his lips still making her stomach flip and setting every nerve ending through her whole body abuzz. 

Rick rolled onto his back, pulling Riley on top of him. She held him in her hand and sat up, positioning herself at the right angle, then slid onto him. She braced herself with her hands on his shoulders. He reached up and cupped his fingers around the sides of her breasts, his thumbs brushing over her nipples. She began to rock her hips, feeling him throb inside her. He timed the motion of the tips of his thumbs with her movements."

"Good God, Riles," he said, his breathing labored. "This feels so fucking good."

She let go of his shoulders, grasped both of his hands and laced her fingers through his.

"I could stay here like this forever," she sighed, basking in the exquisite pleasure of the feel of him inside her, hitting every right spot, the warmth of his skin against hers.

That was when she realized they hadn't stopped to deal with protection.

She stopped moving for a second but then he looked at her, his eyes locking on hers, and said, "I love you, Riley."

She tightened her thighs around him and leaned forward. Her hair was down, and it fell in a curtain that brushed against his chest.

"I love you, too, Rick," she breathed back before sealing her mouth over his.

She continued the gentle bouncing motion on top of him, going faster and faster as their kiss intensified. He let go of her hands so he could grasp her hips, urging her even faster, thrusting up to meet her.

She felt the crescendo and broke the kiss, whispering next to his ear, "Oh, God, Rick. You're gonna make me come, baby. You're gonna make me come so hard!" And she did, nuzzling his neck to muffle her cries.

She kept moving on top of him until she saw his eyes go wide and felt him relax even as warm liquid coursed through her.

She lay against his chest, him still inside her, and wrapped her arms around him. The sun was starting to come up, and as he wrapped his arms around her, she found that she was able to drift off to sleep.


End file.
